ghost rider (2007)
by zEke
I can think of three reasons that would make someone that is reading this want to see this movie. One, Nicolas Cage; two, it is based on a comic book; and three, you are not able to sleep when in a plane 10,000 feet height. And four, Eva Mendes, I know I said three. By far, not the best Cage’s product. By further, not the best comic book adaptation. Maybe, just maybe, if you are lucky, it will help you sleep.
Johnny Blade (Matt Long first, Nicolas Cage later; despite the obvious differences I thank whoever decided not to try to make Cage look like a teenager) is a motorbike rider in a local show where he performs side by side with his famous father, who would be a complete role model for him if he did not smoke. Guess what? As a consequence of his addiction he has a lung cancer. One blue filtered night a flaming Devil offers Johnny to cure his father in exchange of his soul. What Johnny does not know yet is that the contract he signs is good for his dad’s lung cancer, which is miraculously cured the following day, but not for the deathly motorbike accident he suffers. Several years later Johnny, who still feels responsible for the death of his father, has to pay the Devil back, regain the love of Roxanne Simpson (Raquel Alessi first, Eva Mendes later), and kill four demons that want to take over his contractor reign.
Nicolas Cage is a mediocre actor and leaving las vegas (1994) might be the exception that confirms the rule. Otherwise, he tries really hard to prove me, and some other, right. He should know by now, after experiences such as con air (199 
, I still remember his long curly hair and white tank top, that he has never been and will never be a decent action hero. Why? Three examples from ghost rider. One, he is mostly tense, on a physical way, on screen, maybe trying to exalt a musculature that he does not have, either that or he is hiding a constipation. Two, his face, which strengthens the constipation theory, does not reflect his emotions, no matters if he is trying to show himself funny or tormented. And three, his new, and yet another, hairstyle. As a side note, let me say that Bruce Willis only became a decent action hero when he accepted he was bald, coincidence? Eva Mendes will be remembered again by her tight dress, which after several movies, seems to have become a trend. The rest of the cast, with the exception of Sam Elliot who plays himself once again, does his best at reminding us that they are just extras with more or less time on scene.
The movie only works when Nicolas Cage sets himself on fire and burns everything but his leather clothing, including his hair. The mostly blue filtered action scenes are quite well shot and will keep the attention of those viewers with lower expectations. Unfortunately, the director does not remotely survive the mixture of light romance, straightforward characters and CG action the adaptation offers him in the first place, and delivers a product that fails both in the essence and the shape.
Every single new comic book adaptation adds one more to an already never ending list, and sometime soon we might get tired of them unless they manage to offer something new. ghost rider is not the one that is going to break the inertia of a genre that seems to have run out of ideas, cinematographically speaking, even though there are many more adaptations coming out soon, any hope?
For the deadhours of those who does not read their contracts.
deadrate: εad
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