Rating 3 out of 5
TITLE: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
DIRECTOR: Mark Nevelidine, Brian Taylor
STAR(S): Nicolas Cage, Ciaran Hinds, Violante Placido, Idris Elba, Fergus Riordan
WRITER(S): Scott M. Gimple, Seth Hoffman
RATING: PG-13
GENRE(S): Action
As a fan of the comics, I was very disappointed over the 2007 cheese fest that was the film Ghost Rider starring Nicolas Cage. The dialog was embarrassing, the story was a mess, the villains were uninteresting, and many of the performances ranged from being too over the top to blatantly phoned in at times. So you can imagine that when I first learned a sequel was in the works, my hopes weren’t very high. That all changed though when I saw the trailer for Spirit of Vengeance. It looked darker, grittier, and holy sh!t the action looked intense. Plus when I discovered that this film was being directed by the same guys responsible for the, “Crank” series I figured it was a safe bet that viewers were in for a wild ride.
While “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” is more of a reboot of the franchise instead of a true sequel, it does still maintain the basic continuity from the first film’s origin story. Cage reprises his role as Johnny Blaze and does a much better job bringing the Rider to the big screen this time around. We learn that he is on the run because the curse that he was so sure he could control at the end of the first film has proven to be too much to handle causing him to avoid human interaction whenever possible. Despite his efforts, he is visited by a stranger named Moreau, (played by Idris Elba) who comes looking for Blaze’s services. He explains that a young boy named Danny; (Fergus Riordan) is being pursued by Blaze’s old Nemesis Roarke (Ciarán Hinds) and is in danger of becoming the anti-christ. At first Blaze is reluctant, but after Moreau promises that he’ll lift his curse of the Rider, Blaze sets off in search leaving nothing but a trail of fire behind him.
 |
| Most of the action takes place on desert roads. |
I’ll come straight to the point. Spirit of Vengeance’s story fails as a super hero blockbuster but instead triumphs as a road action flick. Most of the story unfolds out on the highways, as battles with convoys rage on through desert roads instantly giving off a sort of Mad Max vibe to it. Despite the fact that this is a story about fighting the devil, monster designs never stray far from human form and seem rather uninspired. With that said, Ghost Rider’s new look is the exception looking simply amazing looking in comparison to the first film. There are many times that the Rider becomes genuinely creepy at times due to the way it moves and stares which is a feeling I never got from the previous film.
The story suffers from some continuity problems still, despite it staying true to the origin story as far as how the Rider affects Blaze. At one point the Spirit of Vengeance gets hit by a missile sending Blaze to the hospital only to later on take rocket after rocket without so much as a scratch, leaving the question if Blaze can die due to the Rider’s wounds unclear. Overall though the story is much more solid this time as the film even manages to have a sense of humor about itself many times throughout. The characters overall are much more likable in this installment especially Moreau, who is just full of charisma and honestly stole the scenes every time he was on. I honestly wanted to learn more about his character and wished there was a spinoff of his back-story somewhere.
 |
| Moreau shows that even french brothers can rock the classic leathers. |
Dialog is so much better this time around as well. The script gives Cage the freedom to act crazy as expected without going too overboard. Everyone talks in a believable way and relationships seem a little more real this time. The little boy Danny I found to be an interesting character because despite him being chosen to become the anti-christ, he never feels truly evil. He shows that genetics and destinies don’t guarantee the kind of person you will become personality wise and the relationship he grows with the rider is an interesting concept. The Rider doesn’t talk no where near as much as he did before which is a blessing because last time every time it spoke it resulted in me feeling embarrassed for it due to the cheesiness.
 |
| Danny shows that deep down all children can be evil. |
The sound in “Spirit of Vengeance” is what one would expect. It’s a piston busting, gasoline igniting boom fest that keeps you in your seat when the action heats up. The noise that Rider made always got under my skin whenever I heard it, proving that one liners do not make a character intimidating.
The 3D was mediocre at best as it never blew me away but never made my eyes hurt either. Honestly most of the time I forgot I was watching a 3D film and odds are that’s due to all the night time scenes.
 |
| Mayhem has nothing on Blaze. |
Overall, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” is not the epic Marvel heroes tale we’ve been hoping for to stack up with the great Avenger movies. It is instead a gripping and entertaining road flick that left me feeling very satisfied. If you liked “Drive Angry” you’ll like this one. It is a phenomenal improvement over the first film, and I hope that another sequel will spawn out of this reboot. Who knows, the next one might be the epic demon fighting tale fans have been waiting for.
Ryan Pierce
