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Let's face it, Ghost Rider really isn't the easiest superhero to take seriously. The guy looks like something that would be sketched on the back of a Trapper Keeper by an eight year-old who thinks skulls and motorcycles are "totally rad". Yet, he's had a loyal legion of fans since the character's reinvention in the 1970s (prior to that he appeared in Western comics as a mysterious Lone Ranger-type figure sans flaming skull, though there are a lot of fans of that version too).
It is this loyal legion of fans that have been the most distressed over this new film adaptation, starring Nicholas "Who...what...where?" Cage and Eva Mendes. Citing disappointing special effects and concern over the fact that Daredevil director Mark Steven Johnson signed on to helm the project, many fans have been vehemently criticizing the film before seeing the finished product. But then again, this is the Internet, and such things as "logic" and "actually trying something before you bitch and moan about it" do not register here. All looked bleak for Sony and Marvel, because clearly the opinions of people on Ain't It Cool News talkback forums were going to be the death knell of this film.
However, I, as a loyal Marvel Zombie, was going to go see this movie no matter what. You must realize that I am an absolute sucker for any movie about a superhero, especially a Marvel superhero, even if I am not wholly familiar with that source material (such as in this case). I did, after all, go see the awful Elektra opening night, a fact that I am not particularly proud of, but in the interest of full disclosure you should know. So I was excited about Ghost Rider, particularly because I didn't have a deep emotional attachment to the character and would not be personally offended if it turned out to be bad. Admittedly, as the days counted down and the commercials advertising the movie got worse, I was a little worried about my decision. But my will stands resolute, and so I went last night to see Nicholas Cage finally get his comic book movie on.
Ghost Rider tells the story of Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcycle rider working at various carnivals and circuses with his father. He discovers that his dad has cancer from smoking multiple packs of cigarettes a day, so when a mysterious figure in black shows up and says he can save Blaze's daddy in exchange for his soul, young Johnny is reluctant at first and then relents. The man in black is Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles, better known to you and I as the Devil. The Devil is as good as his word and does remove the cancer from the elder Blaze's body, but then makes a stunt go wrong and kills him anyway. As part of the deal, Blaze the younger is forced into becoming the Ghost Rider, an agent of the devil. Flash forward to the future, when Blaze is a multi-millionaire stuntman on the scale of Evel Kneivel in his prime. A rogue demon known as Blackheart is making a play for a contract containing thousands of souls, a contract that Mephistopheles wants. So Blaze is called into action, against his will, as the Ghost Rider, to put a stop to Blackheart. Does he learn to control the curse? Does he stop Blackheart? Will any of this be surprising to anyone remotely familiar with the structure of superhero mythology?
Let's get one thing out of the way first. Ghost Rider is by no means perfect. In fact, it's far from a classic. What it is is a very different type of superhero movie, and a big part of that is due to Nicholas Cage's performance as Johnny Blaze. Rather than make him the standard "hero with a dark past", which could have treaded dangerously into emo territory with a story like this, Cage makes him...well...different. He doesn't drink (it gives him nightmares), instead choosing to enjoy jelly beans from a martini glass when those around him imbibe. He's by no means suave, good with words, or particularly in the same time and space as those around him. He loves cartoons, shows about monkeys, and the Carpenters. Not the kind of guy you'd expect to become an agent of Satan, and that's why it works. Cage seems more committed to this role than he has been to some of his more recent work, largely because he's a huge nerd and a long time fan of the character, and that genuine love for the material shows through in his off-kilter performance (as well as the script, which he reportedly wrote sections of). I have no idea how accurate his portrayal is to the comics, being only passingly familiar with the character, but it works fine in the movie because it humanizes a character that is otherwise merely a conduit to a special effect.
And the special effects are good - Ghost Rider himself looks pretty much like he does in the comics, and it does transfer fairly well, with impressive CG flame that doesn't stand out as fake from its surroundings (very tough to do). The filmmakers were smart enough to get around the fact that a skull is not the best way to show emotion by making the flames dancing around it change color in accordance with Blaze's emotions - it burns fiery red and orange when he's angry, and a calm blue when he's sad. It's not a perfect solution but it works. The best thing that I can say about the special effects is that they fit the surroundings, which is exactly what should happen. While you may be aware you're watching computer effects on the screen, it doesn't distract you the way it does in other movies. Rumor has it this movie was pushed back to February in part to give the SFX crew more time to work, and it seems like time well-spent.
Too bad the villains doesn't seem to be playing on the same level as Cage and the Rider. Peter Fonda is merely OK as Mephistopheles, never quite conveying the sort of seductive evil or even soulless hedonism that Satan should (for a reference point, I think Constantine's representation of the Devil was spot-on). It's understandable, considering his casting was mostly as an inside joke - after all, who better than the lead from Easy Rider to play the devil in a movie about demons on motorcycles? He does get some good scenes, such as the aforementioned "contract" scene, but by and large he's not threatening enough. Wes Bentley fares a little better in the "scary" department as Blackheart, but he and his three elemental cronies (also known as the Hidden) don't get much in the way of backstory or character development, which was sorely needed.
If the villains turned out to be sort of a let down, the supporting cast for the hero is at least a little better. Eva Mendes, as Blaze's childhood sweetheart and now adult flame, is adorable and just as quirky as the hero, leading to some genuinely wonderful non-sequitor moments in the film, the type that don't show up in other movies of this ilk. Cage has gone on record as saying she'd make a good She-Hulk, and I could definitely see it. Sam Elliott is pretty good as a mysterious graveyard caretaker who's got a secret that will make long-time fans of the Ghost Rider mythos happy (I definitely enjoyed it). Donal Logue also gets a few laughs as Blaze's manager, though he doesn't do too much.
The smartest thing the filmmakers did was set this movie in Texas. In doing so, they have captured a unique Western vibe to the proceedings that really sets it apart. Much of the movie has a definite "dirty South" feeling to it that works exceedingly well with the story, such as when Blackheart lays waste to a road house in the middle of nowhere. There's just something about biblical evil and those kinds of settings that works really well. The underlying Western tones really add a lot to the story and to the character, as Blaze is portrayed not just as "the devil's bounty hunter", but also to a degree the archetypal "wandering stranger" that fills the best of Wild West lore and also fits the nature of the character well.
I said this isn't a perfect movie. And it isn't. The lack of backstory and development for the villains is a major sticking point, as the conflicts between Ghost Rider and the Hidden are only about thirty seconds long apiece and they are never seriously built up as threats. We get at least some idea of why they're there, but it ultimately doesn't matter. I would have liked to have gotten into Blackheart's head a little more, as well. In a movie where the hero and heroine are built up so well, having stock villains with only-slightly-more-than-zero personality detracts from the proceedings. While Ghost Rider clips along at a decent pace and never overstays its welcome, it also never really introduces itself. This is one of those rare movies that actually needs another fifteen minutes or so added to its running time, as the Ghost Rider mythology has such a long history that it's a shame that more of it isn't really introduced.
Still, the quirkiness of the hero and heroine, the cool Western vibe, great special effects, and overall story of the movie make it worth watching. The theater was absolutely packed when I went, and it was a matinee. It really says something when I walk out and people are actually talking about how great it is to the next (very) long line of people about to walk in. We'll have to wait until the box office receipts to be sure, but Ghost Rider has the potential to be the start of another lucrative Marvel movie franchise.
Would I buy the DVD?
The ultimate test of whether I liked a movie, and one I'm using in lieu of a rating system, is whether or not I'd buy the DVD. For Ghost Rider, I will. Not only because I'm sort of a collector of comic book movies, but also because it's worth watching again. Plus, any opportunity to hear the excellent Spiderbait cover of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (one of my all-time favorite country songs) again is one I am gladly willing to shell out $15-$20 for.
