"Ghost Rider"

Wow, what to say about Ghost Rider. I think I was just bored to tears one Saturday night, and I went to go see this flick just because there was nothing else worth seeing at the time, and in a few of the previews, the C.G. I looked pretty good. Hey what can I say, I’m a guy. Good special effects are always a good thing, even if the end result is not always a good movie.

Ghost Rider is about a modern day Evil Knievel “Johnny Blaze” (played by Nicholas Cage) who makes a deal with the devil to save his father, and in doing so trades his soul to become the Ghost Rider. A tool of Mephistopheles, Ghost Rider can look into someone’s eyes, and see their past, and judge them as innocent or guilty. His main power I guess you could call it, is his Penance stair. The guilty can be made to feel the pain of their sins turned against them.

This movie adaptation of the popular comic book series turns out to be a fun movie when all is said and done. Mephistopheles is played by none other then the original “Easy Rider” himself, Peter Fonda, and he does a great job with the role. Nicholas, as always just seems to be comfortable playing the same kind of character he plays in all his movies, but like most of his better movies, this formula works. His love interest in this Film is one of the better “Eye candy” actresses Eva Mendes, who plays a nosey reporter. She will never be mistaken for an Oscar winning actress, but she is not hard on the eyes. (Sorry ladies) One of my favorite cowboy actors Sam Elliot, is in this film with Cage, and plays a very interesting character, even if his true identity is not revealed until towards the end of the movie.

As with all the comic books that have made their way to the big screen, in order to achieve anything other then a Ho Hum status, the special effects must be mind blowing in order to capture the true spirit of the comic book. Ghost Rider does NOT disappoint. Blaze changing into the Ghost Rider is fantastic. The motorcycle is incredible, and the scenes where the Ghost Rider, flaming skull and all are riding around causing havoc are great. Director Mark Johnson definitely got it right with the look on this one. From start to finish, he puts the scenes together and shoots them in a way the ties everything together pretty well.

I’m sure some where there are hoards of people who are die hard fans of the comic book series probably crucifying this movie, and the director for even attempting such blasphemy, but as some one who has not read the series, I thought the movie was entertaining, and worth the price of admission, which is actually quite a statement unto itself with the way ticket prices seem to be going up, up and OUT the window these days! Now that the movie is out on DVD, if you’re looking for a good weekend movie to rent, check out Ghost Rider.

My rating for this movie is 7.50 out of 10.00