Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is in no means a terrible movie, it is however a forgettable, flawed movie
Review by Dack

When going into Ghost Rider, I wasn't expecting much. When coming out of Ghost Rider, I didn't get much, however I didn't loose anything either.

Ghost Rider is based on the comic book by the same name. The whole project came together a few years ago when Nicholas Cage, being a big comic fan - his favorite comic being Ghost Rider, decided to push for a big screen adaption of the flaming biker. The project is disappointing. Marvel started off with some great big screen adaptations ala Spider-man and X-men, but it's been a rough ride since the debut of Spider-Man 2. We've seen a lot of mediocre adaptations such as Daredevil, Elektra, and the hideously bad Fantastic Four. Ghost Rider is a new resident in mediocrity.

The biggest problem in Ghost Rider was how the project came together. With a running time of nearly two hours, you'd expect there to be a fair share of Ghost Rider on Bad Guy fight scenes, however, most fight scenes - if you want to call them that, were 30 second "Hi I'm a villain/I'm Ghost Rider, your dead/I'm Dead" scenes- weak considering Ghost Rider is an action movie. Most of the movie tends to be a non-relatable love story, rather then Ghost Rider kicking ass. But when Ghost Rider flames up, you know you have some action in store. Forgetting the weak special effects, and lame puns, Ghost Rider is a really cool anti-hero. To put it simply, he's just badass. He will kill people - None of this "I'm web-trapping you to a wall" kind of thing in a certain other superhero movie, Ghost Rider will kill you if he wants to.

Ghost Rider is in no means a terrible movie, it is however a forgettable, flawed movie - In the way where during and after the movie, you'll think about the flaws of the movie, instead of the actual movie

Final Score: 2.5/5

Second Opinion by Sirus

“Ghost Rider” was one of my favorite super heroes ever since I saw him on a cartoon do his penance look on someone. I came into the movie adaptation with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. “Ghost Rider” is no masterpiece by any stretch of the word but it was still a great bit of fun for someone into demons as much as I am. “Ghost Rider” is the story of Johnny Blaze (Nicholas Cage) that begins in his teens while he is still jumping through fire loops with his father at the local carnival. The show was short but sweet with his father on one side and him on the other side and they would both jump through the loop together without colliding. One night, Johnny realizes that his father has cancer and is going to die. That same night, The Devil (Peter Fonda) appears to him and offers to cure his father’s cancer if he will give up his soul. Johnny lives with his curse through his career as a stunt biker for many years until finally The Devil needs him to serve out his end of the bargain. The Devil’s son, Blackheart has decided to search for a scroll with the contracts of a large number of souls of evil men with the help of three other demons. Johnny is given the task of dealing with the four nuisances and promised his soul back in return when it is done.

The movie is padded out with overly sappy mildly annoying romance sequences between Johnny and a girl. The demons are well done with some good special effects but Ghost Rider’s special effects are not so convincing. The movie has a few short action sequences but they are over just as soon as they start. One of the highlights of the movie is the penance look Ghost Rider uses on his enemies and the effects associated with it. The music is a well done combination of western style music with a rock twist. The ending song is an especially well done remix of an old cowboy song “Riders in the Sky”. Overall I was satisfied by what ghost rider gave but it could have been a lot more. The effects were great and all but they really could have cut out the romance and made the movie a lot shorter. “Ghost Rider” succeeds as a popcorn flick for viewers who aren’t expecting much in terms of thought provoking meaningful cinema.

Final Score: 3/5