Sidewalks On The Corner

Hahhahahahahahha! On the eve before the opening day premiere of “Ghost Rider,” I was having a big laugh at a sneak preview showing of the latest superhero flick starring the very likable actor Nicolas Cage and the very lovely Eva Mendes. My popcorn-filled belly was aching from the incredible laughter that assumed me. It was so funny; this was the best comedy ever made for the cinema world. Wait a minute…it’s not a comedy.

Follow up:

“Ghost Rider” is definitely not a comedy, but you will be laughing at the poorly conceived adaptation …and definitely crying if you actually used your hard earn money on this cinema flop. This is considered a superhero film? I don’t think so. Luckily, I got in for free as a member of the press.

For those who don’t know much about the origins, “Ghost Rider” is based on a long-running comic book series produced by Marvel Comics. The movie follows Johnny Blaze (played by Matt Long), a motorcycle stunt performer who works with his stepfather in a traveling circus. Blaze discovers that his step dad is battling cancer. Fortunately for Blaze, a mysterious man named Mephisto (Peter Fonda) comes to his rescue. In order to save his father’s life, Blaze will have to sell his soul, so that Mephisto can use Blaze’s services in the future. Now fast forward around 20 years, a grownup Blaze (Cage) is a solo wanna-be Evel Knievel traveling around arena after arenas making dangerous death-defining stunts. Then one day, Mephisto reappears and calls on Blaze to stop other evil doers or “rogue demons,” including a particular demon named Blackheart (Wes Bentley). To stop Blackheart, Blaze is turned into a bounty hunter named Ghost Rider, a firey skeleton head rumbling through the streets with his flaming shiny motorcycle (to me, Ghost Rider – without the burning head -- looked very similar to Skeletor, the evil character in the cartoon and comic book series, “Masters of the Universe”). From this point on, the movie becomes a non-stop action of CGI battles, CGI bodies, CGI weapons, and more CGI battles. By the way, when Blaze becomes Ghost Rider, Cage doesn’t even have to work on those shoot days, since it’s all special effects.

There are some B-stories to the film: the young Blaze leaves an earlier girlfriend named Roxanne Simpson (Raquel Alessi, then later played as a grown up by Mendes), who is now a news reporter; his relationship with co-worker Mack (Donal Logue), who tries to help the confused Blaze; and meeting Carter Slade (Sam Elliott) as The Caretaker.

I give credit to Mr. Cage; he tries to bring humor to the character, but his usually good acting never comes across in the film, due to the over the top situations and the elementary writing in the dialogue.

Are there high points in the film? There are impressive special effects during the numerous battle scenes, and we get to see Ms. Mendes in some tight-fitting fashion with cleavage in almost every scene she is in (yes, I'm sort of joking calling this a high point). Although that may be eye catching enough for some to sit through, unfortunately, it doesn’t come close to help or save the film.

I never read “The Ghost Rider” comics growing up, so I had no clue what to expect. What I did see for 114-minute in a theatre was a movie filled with silly dialogues, bad acting (especially Mendes as a news reporter), and no characters to care or really cheer for. I guess what the filmmakers did were to create the special effects first then take bits and pieces of the comic book series to craft a story. For a virgin to the "Ghost Rider" world, it didn't make me into a fan.

I guess the true fans of the film will be the hardcore readers of the comic book series -- because they would be the only ones understanding the underlining themes and characters. I watched the movie with my fellow "Sidewalks" member, Justin Langston, who is a reader of the Marvel series. Although he agreed there are some plot holes in the film, he felt the reason I and other critics didn't understand the film is because we never read the comics ahead of time. Personally, I shouldn't have to read the comics first, since this movie is supposed to introduce the "Ghost Rider" world and characters. Right???

This is truly a prime example of Hollywood throwing a lot of money away toward actors, writers, motorcycles, and special effects. This movie was so bad that 2003's "Hulk” was better (I hated that film and prior to watching “Ghost Rider” was my pick as the worst comic character film). Even any earlier “Supeman” (like three and on) and “Batman” films (the ones starring Val Kilmer and George Clooney) should be considered masterpieces compared to this film.

One more thing, there’s talk of more “Ghost Rider” movies. Please…please…NO! Unless you can figure out how to write a story first then use the CGI to help enhance the story, then I will give “Ghost Rider 2” another chance. In the meantime, I'm going to pickup a copy of a "Ghost Rider" comic, so I can read a real "story."

Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date: February 16, 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for horror violence and disturbing images.
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Matthew Long, Peter Fonda
Directed By: Mark Steven Johnson
Produced By: David S. Goyer, Stan Lee, Gary Foster