Ghost Rider (2007) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

It’s a given to say heroes come in all shapes & sizes, but seeing the difference is still a big difference.


PLOT


2007’s Ghost Rider follows motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze who makes an unusual deal. In 1986, his father Barton (Brett Cullen) was suffering from cancer, thus making a deal with the Devil himself, Mephistopheles, hoping to have him cured in exchange for his soul. He does cure him, but manipulates him to die in a stunt accident. As part of their contract, he takes full ownership of the soul and makes Johnny forget about friends/family/love until he sees him again. Fast forward to the story’s present 20 years later, Johnny has gained fame in his line of work. He does survive an accident after leaping over a field of semi trucks, which only puts worry to his manager Mack that his next jump will be a football field. The day of, he does succeed in jumping over Blackhawk helicopters, inspired by his dad, but reunites with his ex girlfriend Roxanne Simpson who he hasn’t seen since Barton died. He chooses to make things right with her by taking her out to dinner, but that doesn’t end up happening due to the return Mephistopheles. He sees him again only to task him in destroying his son Blackheart and promises to return his soul if he succeeds. When he meets Blackheart, he transforms into the devil’s titular bounty hunter where his skeleton is visible and constantly on fire. He proves to be powerful on his own when taking on Blackheart’s trio of followers, The Hidden, killing the earth based fallen angel Gressil (Laurence Breuls) by burning him so much that he turns to charcoal. When the antagonists retreat, Johnny practices the ‘Penance Stare’ on a burglar, where he causes the mortal to feel all the pain he’s caused to others, searing his soul in the process. By morning, he meets a Caretaker who is aware of his predicament and assures him what he’s going through is real. By the time he goes home to try controlling his powers, Roxanne visits him to express being upset for him standing her up. He quickly decides to confess his secret, but she goes back home when she doesn’t believe him. Shortly after she does, Blaze winds up in prison for a murder Blackheart committed due to his license plate being left at the crime scene. He turns into Ghost Rider again to escape and ends up killing the air based fallen angel Abigor (Matthew Wilkinson) by using his fiery chain against him. As he escapes from authorities, Roxanne notices the commotion and realizes he was telling the truth. By next morning, Blaze asks the caretaker what Blackheart wants. At the cemetery, he shows him the grave of the previous Rider named Carter Slade. He was sent by Mephistopheles to fetch a contract worth 1000 dark souls in the abandoned San Venganza, but kept it for himself knowing the Devil would use it to bring Hell on Earth. With Blackheart being his son, he will do the same thing out of spite if he can get it first. Knowing he’ll target loved ones, Johnny quickly rushes back home to protect Roxanne. Instead, he finds Mack dead and her taken hostage. He tries using the Penance Stare on Blackheart, but it backfires as the demon has no soul to burn. With an advantage, Blackheart orders the Rider to get the contract wherever he can find it and bring it to him San Venganza in exchange for her. When he sees the Caretaker again, he demands the contract. He gives it to him and reveals he is Carter Slade, admitting Blaze is the strongest because he did it for love instead of greed. He guides him to San Venganza and gives him a shotgun before bidding farewell, as he fades into dust. After killing the water based Wallow (Daniel Frederiksen), he tries to subdue Blackheart but is rendered powerless at sunrise. Once accessing the contract, he renames himself Legion with all the souls making him more powerful than before. Roxanne intervenes when shooting him with the shotgun. Johnny then uses the shadows to enhance its power. With all the thousand souls inside him, he uses the Penance Stare through the shadows and successfully Sears Legion’s soul. Mephistopheles would then appear and congratulate his success, offering to free his soul as promised. However, Johnny prefers keeping the curse for himself and use it against him to protect the innocent. Vowing to make him pay, Mephistopheles retreats with his son’s body. Roxanne officially makes amends with Johnny that his curse is his second chance and the film ends with him riding away and prepare his new life.


THOUGHTS


The 2000s was a fun time for any comic book fan, especially Marvel, because even if most of the stuff were nowhere near the same quality of Spider-Man or X-Men, you can’t help respect the studios for shaking it up and figuring out what sticks. Director Mark Steven Johnson had the task to make something that was straightforward entertainment and it worked in my eyes because I had a good time seeing it when it came out and I still do now. I mean it’s hard to not get hooked seeing a burning skull of a bounty hunter eliminate demons and fallen angels because the visual effects on each sequence are honestly aging well. It’s not everyday you see a flaming horse and it’s just as cool as a flaming motorcycle. I’m still getting chills seeing Ghost Rider ride down a building and send a shockwave of fire to escape. That’s just too badass to ignore. It is of course also scary in one perspective since this was the first time a Marvel adaptation acknowledged the supernatural so moments like the Penance Stare were relentless to say the least. With such a balance of horror and action, I think this movie tells us how to make the most of second chances because you don’t know if you’ll get another long after. Nicolas Cage is probably the most unexpected lead to have as Johnny Blaze, but it suits him so well since he’s been open to being a comic book fan himself. In a way, he does a good job in making him come off ambiguous but is really a humble guy coping with heartache because his selflessness led him to a predicament he walked into. He lost his dad just when he got him healed, only for him to die as if it was all for nothing. That is what led to him distancing himself from Roxie because he didn’t want the same to happen to her. When the past came back his way, he chose to set things right rather than let it break him down some more. With such a big heart, it’s a good thing he still had people that cared about him when there had been times he must’ve been left. Donal Logue was an ideal concerning friend as Mack, but Johnny was of course at his most affectionate when it came to Roxie. Eva Mendes made her likable due to presenting her as a lady inquisitive in her line of work as a reporter, but rightfully keeps a distance with the guy who broke her heart to protect her. If someone were to tell you he or she became the devil’s bounty hunter, you likely wouldn’t have a straight face either. So when she got all the proof she needed to believe him, she did the right thing pursuing him again just to understand it all even if it put her in harm’s way like it sadly did with Mack. With that in mind, it’s a relief the two got the chance to end things on better terms as it would’ve gotten complicated if they stayed together for something he’s gonna take to the grave. It’s even a relief for Blaze to get advice from a veteran sharing a similar predicament since he would’ve been lost in wanting to rediscover his purpose. Sam Elliot was another good casting choice because he portrayed Carter Slade as one who was noble and knew he was flawed, which is what inspires him to guide Blaze to make the right decisions since he started out greedy. Knowing how different Blaze was from the start was all needed to do so since without him, the world would’ve been doomed, thus inspiring him to have his last ride. This movie already sells me with a solid protagonist, so it makes sense for an intimidating villain to stir up the pot. Wes Bentley indeed did so as Blackheart since he, like many demon themed antagonists, he’s vicious because he’s hungry for more power than he already has, which is what drives him to make his own playground out of Earth. When he had loyal followers out of The Hidden who were able to match the maliciousness, he did come off like he a strong chance of succeeding until the Ghost Rider proved exactly why he was meant to exist, to keep things in check at a price. That curse is of course possible thanks to a cunning demon. Peter Fonda fit right in as this movie’s incarnation of Mephisto because he’s naturally suave while also manipulative, which is what makes it easy for him to trick Johnny the way he did. Little did he think his host would be smart enough to use the power against him. Had anyone thought that sooner, his reign of terror would’ve ended much so but in this case, sooner is better than never. This movie is generally fine for what it is, but it doesn’t mean there weren’t confusing moments to pick up on during a rewatch. For instance, what inspired Barton to see a doctor? I know Johnny’s backstory needs trauma like many superheroes in order for us to build a connection with him, but it’s so rushed of an idea when he was rejecting treatment before Johnny sold his soul. Even continuity errors kick in fast because when Mack is trying to talk Johnny about the field goal jump, one channel is monkey comedy related before he turns it off and when Johnny turns it back on, it’s a skeleton cartoon. I don’t get the point of that. And honestly, I don’t think Roxie heard Mack at all from afar when he reminds everyone Johnny doesn’t do interviews. The same can be said with her reaching the stand off in time between him and the police when she was just in her apartment after seeing her boyfriend drive up the building. And how did Blaze even have the time to arrange helicopters instead of semis in time before Mack could know? I get that he could be wealthy enough to pull it off, but it’s a surprise the rest of his crew didn’t spill the tea. Hell, there’s no way Roxie even gave him her phone number when they didn’t even exchange numbers before they left the freeway. Also, why can’t Mephisto harm Blackheart? The Ghost Rider is of course useful for this case, but it shouldn’t hurt to know why can’t Mephisto personally put his son in check. Thats weirder than Johnny’s fire having no effect on people he touches when un-gloved. Moving on, why doesn’t Blackheart do anything when Gressil dies? If he knows the Penance Stare doesn’t work yet, that advantage could’ve been used sooner. It even feels strange that there is an over 100 year gap between the time Slade & Blaze became Ghost Riders and Mephisto didn’t need anyone to do his bidding? If the Devil is supposed to be so manipulative, I refuse to believe no one else wanted to make a deal before Johnny and after Slade, let alone control them as well. That’s dumber than the cop smacking Blaze with the baton instead of shooting him. And if Blackheart knew Slade had it, he should’ve summoned a spell to read his mind and find it sooner rather than force Johnny to get it from him. On top of that, why does it take so long for Johnny to find Roxie at home? The cameraman Stuart was the only person to contact apart from her workplace and it ain’t like those two were far apart. Other than that, I can still get a kick out of it what this is going for. To wrap up, Ghost Rider is a solid superhero flick for being fun enough to see more than once. If this genre is your preference, check this out when you can.