First off, I would like to have full disclosure. I began collecting the Danny Ketch GR series in the early 90s and I am still trying to collect all of those issues. While I am not in love with the Johnny Blaze version of the character, I do like it. What this is important is am a GR purist and I bleed for this character.
I also am a moderate Nic Cage fan and I thoroughly enjoyed the cinematography of the Crank films. I am a film snob, so the way a movie is shot and how a script is written matter to me. So, now you should know my motivations for going against the grain with my review of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
The Plot:
Johnny Blaze is back in the reimagining of Ghost Rider as a man struggling with his curse. He is enlisted by a warrior monk with a penchant for wine named Moreau to save a boy that the Devil intends to use to grow his power and continue his time on Earth. If he cooperates the monks agree to lift his curse. The boy, Danny, and his mother are on the run from the Devil's mercenaries in Eastern Europe. Time is short as Johnny embraces the Rider to save the boy and lift his curse.
The Look and Feel:
Let it be known, this is not a perfect movie. For the record, let me also submit for your perusal the fact that this isn't even a great comicbook movie. The dialogue is choppy and full of holes. The plot was mildly better than the first movie and that is saying something considering the first movie was garbage. The camera work was raw and frenetic, which I liked. There was some out there humor brought to you by Cage, but some rather funny moments in exposition. Random shots of Jerry Springer and GR pissing flames show up but this just the characters' own thoughts or one of the monologues that allows for extrapolation. I can say that if you like the look and feel of the Crank films you'll like the way this one handles as well and Neveldine and Taylor delivered. With the Look and Feel being a mixed bag, it is a step in the right direction.
Our Hero:
As most of the world knows Johnny Blaze is again played by Nic Cage. Sigh....Nic tries...he really does. As Blaze he plays him as a man barely holding on and he keeps the lid on the insanity it is to play host to the GR. But Cage, in his ever present quirkiness does overdo the performance and that has been to his determint over the last decade. Cage as Blaze has never felt right. His look is all wrong and always has been. He looks more like a zany high school drama teacher or quirky bartender. Johnny Blaze is supposed to be a grizzeled Hells Angels type. He's of normal size but you can see the wear and tear on his face. When I think Johnny Blaze I don't think Nic Cage, I think Josh Holloway from Lost or perhaps Kevin McKidd(Dog Soldiers/HBO's Rome). Sadly, my love for GR and JB allows me to suspend disbelief--barely.
The fact that he played GR while transformed was a good step forward as he went pretty method with it. You know the drill, isolating his co-stars, etc. Thankfully, GR's lines are minimal. This time around GR comes across a little more badass than the last flick. The Rider's look improved if you ask me. Not only did the flaming skull look better(thank you advances in CGI) but his jacket got quite radical. I for one loved the spikes in the first film because I love the Ketch GR. However, in this one they made the jacket weathered and while transformed it bubbled and smoked. I was impressed with this touch. GR's movements were varied...at times striking and forceful but (SPOILER ALERT) when carrying Danny in the end, he was gentle. His ferocity was there too, however, the Penance Stare was once again misused and nearly nonexistent. He moved almost in a manner of possessed persons that we see modern cinema tend to do: Jerky, frenetic and not at all human. He has the speed that those of us who loved the comic books came to love.
One element that I felt they improved upon was his ability to take damage and keep on coming. I also got thrills watching him "enhance" anything he rode or operated ie a crane, a huge truck. My only real complaint with his abilities was his whip disintegrated any human it came in contact with. This obviously was just a way to keep the budget low and did not serve any real purpose. Overall, I would say all of this is a marked improvement on the first incarnation in 2007.
The Villians:
Cirian Hands plays one of our two main villians The Devil. Not much to say here, he plays the sinister corporate old man type. He has all the power and needs to secure one last thing in order to complete his plan. The touch that added into the plot that impressed me was the fact that he walked around in a human state and needed to continue this. Check out the Vicious Cycle run on GR that showed the Devil's soul being split into 666 fragments on Earth and possessing people. It was the same kind of vibe. I did like that the more he used his power to do things the more aged and diseased his body became. It was a good touch that the screen writers threw in.
The other villian was Carrigan/Blackout played by Johnny Whitworth, though they never specifically called him that he did remove all light from his victims and he rots or disintegrates anything he touches. The Carrigan role could have been played by anyone as it was just a means to an end. He was just there to become Blackout and display these powers while trying to fight GR. There was a great scene after he becomes Blackout that he attempts to eat several things but they all disintegrate save for a Twinkie. That part was pretty funny. The development of the character sucked I think, because in the comics Blackout was a vampire who muted or removed all light and they only glanced on this topic in the movie. Still, this was a alright villian.
Supporting Cast:
Moreau the drunk monk was played by the ever awesome Idris Elba, but he was only a device to connect all the moving parts and served no other purpose. Still Elba's talent shined a bit. Nadya, Danny's mom, was played Violante Placido. She's the typical tough mom who's gone through some bad stuff and is a tough bitch. YAWN. Nothing awesome there. Finally we have Danny, the boy the Devil wants played by Fergus Riordan. Any kid could have played this character.
Final Verdict:
Honestly, the action was a little better and so was the plot. If you are like me there was improvement in the franchise but Cage has to go. I think they should go with a Danny Ketch character and go with a better script. Find one of the Marvel guys from the 90s who wrote GR. Have them wrie a tight script and keep it close enough to the comic cannon to satisfy fanboys such as I.