"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" Lets see- I have my chips, my music, and my common sense for film making- lets get this started.
Lets start first with the way I will be doing this. I viewed this film in TWO ways, as a comic book geek and as a man-boy who has a better understanding on how films work than most of you [frick]-stacks do. Now first is my geek-side, how did the movie manage to effect me? I will say, pretty bad. It wasnt working- I found it hard to keep myself interested when I was thinking how this is supposed to be a comic book movie- if anything was great for comparing it to the comics. Its The Rider, he looked very good in this film, much better than he did in the first flick- the effects were top-notch for this film, the smoke coming from the flames on The Rider was very cool. The way his jacket bubbled as it were to be melting off of his back, I found it to be a very visually pleasing version of Ghost Rider. The action was great, but the story lost itself after the opening title animation (Which I found to be very enjoyable) Now for a comic book movie- or a movie in general, we want a good story to follow, not just action.
This is where my second viewing style came into play- this movie doesnt work as a story driven spectacle- because it was NOT made to be that, it was made for the purpose of being outrageous, to be a blockbuster action flick. It wasnt that, if you want a mindless action film or as I called it, a Blockbuster- watch any of the "TRANSFORMERS" Films, thats what those are. This film is more of a mindless spectacle of ridiculous natures- thats what the Neveldine/Taylor Director duo (CRANK) wanted, they dabble and operate in the ridiculous. They showed that side of them in this film as well as a more calm nature, something that came as a surprise to me- they had some very calm moments in this film, moments that in a sense helped drive its "Plot" Along to a satisfying, but odd conclusion. "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" Was an insane movie to watch, it went crazy about half way through- now in an interview Nic Cage said he based The Rider off his cobra... Yes, he did in fact do that. The Rider periodically swayed and cocked his head oddly in a very hypnotizing manor, that also put great fear in his enemies- as they screamed and ran from him during these moments. The Directors put this film in some dark and deep waters, as a comic book film- they drowned and... died, but as a mindless spectacle for a stupid fun time- they succeeded. I enjoyed the stupid, mindless, outrageous things happening on the screen, the action, when it did come on, was incredible- along with the spectacular effects, made this film an outrageously fun time.
Now, this film was RIDING on a low budget- it shows in some shots, during these shots you can see unnatural, low quality depth. During other shots, they would put discoloration and slow down the events in this particular shot, now I am not a fan of that. I HATE when Directors do that in their films, but in this case- I have understanding for their doing it- I still hate it though. The camera work was in typical Neveldine/Taylor tradition, very quick, sharp, close, and on point. Never losing the action on screen and keeping our eyes on whats important to that moment, also with very impressive angles- they kept the film interesting with their crazy style of directing. Story-wise though, I figured coming from David S. Goyer, who wrote "The Dark Knight" We would have an outstanding story to follow, but sadly the story was simply. Find the boy and avoid the bad guys- or the devil will live forever on Earth. Now with a little to a lot of work, that could be manageable, but it falls short of being awful- with some out of place dialogue, this film isnt a fun listen. It relies on its action, which is impressive, but doesnt happen when it should- which is during those unbearable dialogue scenes.
I guess I should bring this into acting now. We all know Nic Cage is shit on a lot, I personally love the guy- he is a fantastic actor, who has done some VERY impressive work. He is a bit loony, but that just makes me like him more, he shows his crazy side in this film- laughing uncontrollably in the faces of bad guys as he tries to hold back The Rider. One scene has him riding his bike down a street trying to hold back The Rider, as before, but this time he shaking his head, jerking his body around, screaming- basically... he is being Nic cage. This can get overwhelming, but actually looks good when its The Rider doing it, The Rider laughing when killing bad guys is a sight to see- it made me grin and giggle like a little girl. Everyone else was... in their own way good, I dont think the characters were written well, so that may be part to why some characters, like Carrigan and Moreau were very annoying. Moreau especially, he was played by the incredibly talented Idris Elba- making Idris look bad... thats hard to do- they did it.
"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" Is fun, its a fun action flick with humor, incredible amounts of graphic violence, and a Very BAD ASS looking Rider. I, in a common film enthusiasts point of view, give it 6.5/10 Americas.
As a Comic Book Movie, "Ghost Rider: SoV" is nothing more than a montage of mindless events and a garbage story. I give this film, from a comic book geeks point of view, 3/10 Americas.