Movie Review--Ghost Rider (Extended Cut)

"One day, when I need you, I will come."
--Mephisto, Ghost Rider

"The Rider is the devil's bounty hunter.  Sent to hunt down anyone that escapes from hell."
--Carter Slade, Ghost Rider


Ghost Rider is a mixture of the awesome, the mediocre, and the laughable.  It is not an excellent film, but many will not find it utterly unwatchable.  It has plenty of filler scenes and lackluster dialogue.  There are some truly horrendous lines.  However, not every aspect of the film is executed in a sub-par manner.  There are some moments that are genuinely competent, though they are far less frequent than the moments spoiled by Nicolas Cage's accent or by an unfocused tone.  For instance, a scene showing two generations of Ghost Riders traveling alongside each other hints at a much better film that could have been made.

There are also things that get teased without any sufficient elaboration.  The movie scarcely explores the spiritual side of Marvel comics beyond providing basic information about the devil, God, and hell.  As many moviegoers might not understand the role of the traditional supernatural (i.e. religious concepts, not the more basic supernatural things like logic or consciousness) in the world of Marvel, it marks a missed opportunity.

If Ghost Rider was released in the present cinematic atmosphere, it would optimally be an R-rated movie with the same degree of brutality as Logan--and hopefully this year's Venom--and with a much darker take on Marvel's spirituality.  Perhaps Ghost Rider will be reintroduced onscreen, this time in the MCU.  Maybe we will see a Phase Four addition of the character?

Production Values

Considering it is now 2018, the effects do sometimes look rather outdated, and they look particularly old when placed next to those from a recent superhero film like Infinity War or Deadpool 2, but they do remain consistent throughout the entire movie despite clearly belonging to 2007.  When it comes to the acting, things are much more scattered in terms of effectiveness.  Sam Elliott (Carter Slade), Eva Mendes (Roxie Simpson), and Peter Fonda (the devil) are the acting highlights, alongside Matt Long, who plays a young Johnny Blaze in the opening scenes.  None of them offer incapable performances, and some of them do a great job enacting their roles--especially Sam Elliott.

There are some horrific performances in Ghost Rider, though.  Wes Bentley has some atrociously cliche lines as Blackheart, and his acting only highlights how cringe-inducing the lines are--he is not at his best in this film.  Nicolas Cage, playing the titular Ghost Rider and his alternate identity Johnny Blaze, gives a hit or miss performance that misses more often than not.  His inconsistent (and gratuitous) accent and occasional forced laughs significantly detract from potential immersion.  Thankfully, Eva Mendes is able to handle her part of the scenes with Cage well, though her superior acting does make Cage's own acting stand out in a negative way.


Story

As usual, there are spoilers in this section.

Years after literally making a contract with the devil in order to save his father from cancer, not to mention leaving his beloved girlfriend Roxie over the ordeal, stunt biker Johnny Blaze is protected from death by Mephisto, the devil of the story's universe.  Blaze meets with his former lover at around the same time that Blackheart, Mephisto's rebellious son, seeks to find an ancient contract from San Venganza that will enable him to transform earth into hell.

Cursed with the status of the Ghost Rider, Blaze connects with an old man named Carter Slade who resides at a cemetery.  This caretaker tells him stories of how, once exposed to the influence of an enigmatic stranger, the inhabitants of an entire town murderously turned on each other.  Blackheart attacks Slade, seeking the contract of San Venganza.  Blaze discovers that Slade is the previous Ghost Rider, and the two ride together to San Venganza.  After defeating Blackheart by exploiting a new vulnerability, Blaze refuses to relinquish his powers, enraging Mephisto.


Intellectual Content

Ghost Rider relentlessly suggests theological and moral themes that it never explores with any depth.  Again, this story would have provided the perfect opportunity to examine the spiritual side of Marvel far more than prior and, in many cases, subsequent films have.  References to things like God, Mephisto/the devil, the insurrection of Satan, and hell are largely confined to scattered dialogue that merely acknowledges these beings or realms.


Conclusion

I wanted Ghost Rider to be great.  Nonetheless, it fluctuates between competence, mediocrity, and silliness.  It is not the worst superhero movie, but it is far from the best, and, indeed, far from the entire part of the spectrum closest to the best superhero movies.  Some viewers might still find things to enjoy about the film, especially if they already appreciate the character.  Thankfully, Iron Man arrived a year after Ghost Rider to launch the MCU.  I would love to see a better version of Ghost Rider join the MCU films eventually!


Content:
1. Violence:  Ghost Rider and several demons fight using physical and spiritual abilities.  Nothing particularly brutal is shown.
2. Profanity:  There are occasional expletives.