I went into "Ghost Rider" with zero expectations. I was expecting some cornball, cheesy superhero movie like the "Hulk". I actually was surprised. It was still cheesy, but in a deliberate way. But how can it not be cheesy when you have a plot like this. It's about as unbelievably as you can get. Johnny Blaze is a motorcycle stunt rider along with his father. But when his father gets cancer, the devil comes along and makes a deal with Johnny. He will cure his father as long as Johnny sells his soul and becomes the next Ghost Rider. So he accepts. Nothing happens until many years later when the devil calls Johnny to bring back the devil's son, who has decided to go behind his father's back and take over the world. Instead, Johnny chooses to fight against both the devil and his son to rid the world forever of their evil. That's the premise, it's quite implausible, and actually, it's downright silly. Especially since the devil is just an old guy in a trench coat, and his son and his friends look like a Gothic, punk rock band.
Even though the plot aspect is stupid, the rest is descent. Usually I'm not a big fan of Nicolas Cage's, but he actually did fairly well as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider. He added some intentionally humorous scenes. The action scenes carry the film, and are what earns the positive review. Seeing the Ghost Rider ride his motorcycle up and down skyscrapers while doing battle is pretty sweet. Mostly the visual effects are good as well, but there are some scenes where all you can think is, "What?!?!" One scene had Nic Cage in a towel and had CG sculpted abs that looked absolutely horrible. I almost choked on my popcorn. Sam Elliot as Johnny's mentor added a certain grace to the film. He is always brilliant, and always looks like a cowboy with his huge mustache. Ironically, he is a cowboy in this film. Eva Mendes who plays Johnny's girlfriend is really bad. Fortunately, she isn't in the action scenes, so she didn't ruin those. Unlike most Marvel films, this one has some scary visuals that you should probably be aware of before you take your 8 year old along. Just a little caution for you.
Otherwise, this is a great geek-out movie. People who enjoy Marvel movies or comic books are going to adore it, and others will think its garbage, and compare it to "The Hulk". I liked it for the most part, but still had my quibbles. "Ghost Rider" is mostly just mindless, fun eye-candy. It is Rated PG-13 for horror violence and disturbing images.
