Ghost Rider

In 2007 Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil) brought us Ghost Rider, the film incarnation of the legend from the Marvel Comics.

It tells the story of a young man (Matt Long) who sells his soul to the devil. Years later this contract catches up to him and he suddenly finds himself thrown into a strange world against his will and by night he becomes a flaming monster that sends the souls of the damned to hell. But when Blackheart (Wes Bentley) arrives on the scene, the son of the devil no less, things become very interesting.

This has to be one of my favourite characters out of the Marvel heroes and I’m pleased to say that I really liked this movie. It portrayed Ghost Rider brilliantly, even adding humour to the character that just fits.

There were some amazing stunts, stunning visual effects and the plot was breath-taking…the script was very well written. The only bad thing to say about this film is that, in places, the acting is a bit…blocky.

However, I loved the use of Ozzy Ozbourne’s Crazy Train during one of Johnny’s (Nicolas Cage) stunts, as it fits the scene perfectly…and also it’s a very good song! I also like the way the Marvel logo at the beginning was transformed into metal and grew spikes to represent the change that Johnny goes through to become Ghost Rider.

There were some incredible, funny and clever scenes throughout and the following are just my most favourites: Johnny’s bike jump over 6 helicopters…very impressive, and a little bit show-offy; Ghost Rider whistles to his bike like one might whistle to a horse and it comes to him, like it has a mind of its own…which it probably does as it’s possessed by the same powers that Ghost Rider has; the entire scene where Johnny gets thrown in a cell with a bunch of other criminals (the type of people who make him turn into Ghost Rider) and he just kicks the crap out of them…its bloody amazing; the scene where the officer punches Ghost Rider’s lower jaw bone out of place is quite funny, as Ghost Rider’s reaction is to put it back in place, wag his finger and go ‘uh uh uh!’; Ghost Rider rides off on his bike and as he passes a neon sign that proclaims ‘GARAGE’ some of the letters blow out until it reads ‘RAGE’…I found this very clever; Ghost Rider’s Jesus ride across the water…pretty impressive; and finally the scene where Ghost Rider rides up a very tall building and catches himself a police helicopter, which has been following him, with his chain and states ‘You’re pissing me off.’

My favourite quotes from the film are:

• ‘When you do things without thinking you ain’t making the choice, the choice is making you.’ – Barton (Brett Cullen)
• ‘This place could use a woman’s touch.’ – Mack (Donal Logue)    ‘So could you.’ – Johnny
• ‘It’s why they call it the past, because it’s passed.’ – Roxanne (Eva Mendes)

The Ghost Rider is a fun packed action movie that’s full of lots of cool, inventive moments and with a great storyline you’ll be hooked from the word go.

An 8.8 out of 10.

 

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