It's not a complete wash, a la Catwoman, but it ain't far off.
Ghost Rider (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:125
Fresh:33
Rotten:92
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: Ghost Rider is a sour mix of morose, glum histrionics amidst jokey puns and hammy dialogue.
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $115,802,596
Synopsis: The prophetically named Johnny Blaze and his father perform death-defying stunts in a carnival, but the real danger to his dad's life is the cancer growing within his dying body. To save him,... The prophetically named Johnny Blaze and his father perform death-defying stunts in a carnival, but the real danger to his dad's life is the cancer growing within his dying body. To save him, Johnny makes a deal with Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda, EASY RIDER) and sacrifices his soul. When his father is killed mid-stunt, Johnny runs away, leaving behind his grief and a young love named Roxanne. Years later, Johnny (Nicolas Cage, WORLD TRADE CENTER ) is the most famous rider in the country. Despite his daredevil tendencies, Johnny is a different man when he's not riding his bike. Though he wears leather jackets and pants, he prefers jelly beans to Jim Beam while listening to the Carpenters. Years have passed since Johnny has seen the love of his life, but he still carries a torch for Roxanne (Eva Mendes, HITCH). When he sees her after a stunt, he tries to regain her love and trust. But it's time for the devil to take his due as he brings Johnny into an epic battle with Blackheart (Wes Bentley, AMERICAN BEAUTY). In the presence of evil, Johnny transforms into a super-strong skeleton with a flaming skull who has the power to defeat Blackheart and his minions. As Johnny, Cage plays a cross between his Elvis devotee in WILD AT HEART and the sensitive he-man in CON AIR. The evil Mephistopheles is Fonda's most memorable role since his Oscar-nominated turn in ULEE'S GOLD, and this film provides an opportunity for him to return to the spotlight. GHOST RIDER doesn't rank with the best of the comic book adaptations such as SPIDER-MAN and BATMAN BEGINS, but director Mark Steven Johnson (DAREDEVIL) provides a film driven by both humor and action. [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, Peter Fonda, Donal Logue, Matt Long, Raquel Alessi, Brett Cullen, Gibson Nolte
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Screenwriter: Mark Steven Johnson
Producer: Avi Arad, Gary Foster, Michael De Luca, Steven Paul, E. Bennett Walsh
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Ghost Rider
Spectacularly forged in the fires of cinematic creativity, Ghost Rider is also spectacularly silly, cheesy and a tad infantile.
If Nicolas Cage weren’t a goofball with a hunky physique and droll wit, this Marvel-comic-to-big-screen adaptation would have no torque at all.
Seeing Ghost Rider is like going to Saturday matinee serials at the Rialto eons ago. It's a fanciful, puerile experience -- a fun day out for 9-year olds. Ghost Rider is a ridiculous melange of cheesy effects, talentless extras, corny plot and insi
Johnson might have diverted some of his CGI budget to hire a writer to come up with a story with some internal logic -- then he could match the effects to the story rather than vice versa.
Bad fun if you're in the right mood, and a large part of the credit goes to Nicolas Cage.
Director Mark Steven Johnson is infinitely less concerned with exploring Blaze's smoldering, soul-deprived isolation than he is infatuated with the character's skull-'n'-bones imagery.
At nearly two hours, Ghost Rider is a little long for a guilty pleasure.
Easily joins the ranks of ... throw-away superhero movies made for a quick buck.
... Ghost Rider still manages to be a pretty enjoyable diversion if you don't hold it under close scrutiny. Or better yet, any scrutiny. (Extended Cut)
Ghost Rider as a whole adopts Cage's personality, which means it's watchable but seems to be kidding around a lot.
Ghost Rider fails for the same reason every bad movie does: poor storytelling and bad acting.
The movie has the look and feel of a western. The final showdown is in a ghost town in the desert.
An abysmal excuse of a film featuring Nicolas Cage's worst performance yet and only marginally improving on the Spawn formula.
Cage has to collect Satan's unpaid debts, meaning that he becomes a demon biker with a flaming skull for a head - and that's about it for this one-note film.
No skimpily dressed Satan-worshipping babes like in the original comics, alas. . .
When Blaze explains that he may not have a soul but he still has spirit, it's a little like saying, "I may have no heart, but I do have an organ in my chest that pumps blood through my body."
Latest News for Ghost Rider
November 05, 2009:
David Goyer Promises "Existential" Ghost Rider Sequel ![]()
Saying it will be the "Casino Royale" of the franchise, David Goyer spoke with MTV about the "Ghost Rider" sequel, which he says will find Nicolas Cage in a "much darker,... More...
October 02, 2009:
David Goyer Talks Ghost Rider 2 and Magneto ![]()
"Ghost Rider 2" is coming together with a script he wrote almost a decade ago. Will it take that long for David Goyer to get "Magneto" into theaters? More...
July 15, 2009:
Nicolas Cage Talks Ghost Rider 2 ![]()
Curious about Nicolas Cage's plans for "Ghost Rider 2"? You won't want to miss the actor's new interview with MTV. More...
January 29, 2009:
Ghost Rider Rides Again ![]()
You knew Nicolas Cage wanted it to happen, and it looks like he'll get his wish: Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Columbia Pictures has started development on "Ghost Rider 2." More...
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