Ten years ago, Warner Brothers signed Nicolas Cage to portray Superman in a soon — abandoned project. Cage now turns his comic book fantasy into a disappointing reality by playing Ghost Rider’s Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle daredevil who sold his soul and must now defeat Satan’s son. Cinema’s latest hero is a stunt man with a flaming skull. Sounds ridiculous? It is. Ghost Rider suffers from all the problems plaguing superhero franchises. It begins with dull, clumsy exposition, features desperate action sequences tangential to the wafer-thin plot, builds über-strong but easily defeated baddies and, of course, leaves ample room for a sequel. Even the special effects are second rate. The camera cuts before potentially great scenes and the Ghost Rider himself looks plain cartoonish. The movie takes itself lightly and its humor sometimes succeeds, as when requisite love interest Roxanne (Eva Mendes with journalistic cleavage) fails at interviewing Johnny. But more often than not, the humor falls short and the hammy dialogue is more laughable than the jokes. Only Sam Elliot playing a cowboy caretaker genuinely entertains. With 300 already out and Spiderman 3 coming later this year, comic fans should save their money.
— Ryan Menezes, Muse Staff Writer