Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

I can't believe I didn't have a "ghost rider" tag prior to this. I briefly mentioned watching this two weeks ago, but I thought I could go a little more in-depth.

Not that I really need to. If you've read a review that cited Nic Cage as the weakest part of the film, then that pretty well covers it. The parts with the Rider were entertaining. I didn't understand some of it's mannerisms, but I like the dickish attitude it takes. It enjoys terrorizing these people before it kills them, and mocking their attempts to stop it. And like many others, I could have watched the Rider transform different vehicles to suit its purpose all day. Ghost Rider in a bumper car! Ghost Rider on a lawnmower. Ghost Rider in a fighter jet!

I thought everyone else did a good job, even if they weren't necessarily given much to work with. I don't know a lot about Moreau other than he likes to drink and he's a religious man willing to kill. but Idris Elba made me care about him.

Violante Placido as Nadya is kind of a mid-stage Sarah Conner. She's not the badass we saw in Terminator 2, but she knows a few things, and she has resolve. She's made mistakes, but she's determined not to let Danny pay for them. She doesn't want to trust other people - with good reason since it backfires pretty consistently - but she's willing to try for Danny.

Johnny Whitworth plays Carrigan as a completely unlikable, sleazy, asshole, with a very punchable face. Which makes him a good villain for this. I want to see the Rider mess him up. I love it when Ghost Rider throws his 'Did that hurt? It looks like it did.' back in his face. In a lot of ways, Carrigan feels more like the main bad guy than Roarke. Roarke's the boss, but he's so limited in what he can do he spends a lot of time just running. It might have helped if, at the end, he'd decided to hell with it and tried to destroy the Rider. He'd already missed his chance to transfer into Danny, he might as well see if he can remove the Rider as a future impediment to his plans. That body wasn't going to last much longer, anyway.

But Nicolas Cage, oh dear. He's so twitchy, and his delivery is so strange. It kind of worked in that scene where he intimidated that buddy of Carrigan's, yelling about eating his soul and all, but mostly, it doesn't. It just looks awkward and silly, and not in a way that fits with the rest of the film. I preferred the first glimpse we got of him, passed out on that table, a burnout case drinking himself into oblivion. A guy trying to keep the demon down by keeping himself sedated, basically. Instead he played Blaze like he was Tweek from South Park.

Other observations:

- Did Carrigan in his new form have to be careful when he went to the bathroom? Or was Roarke smart enough to have the decay touch not affect Carrigan himself? I thought it was funny when he was trying to eat, the food kept decaying first, and I said to myself, 'Try a Twinkie.' Next thing he tries? A Twinkie. Though he kept the plastic wrapping around it and squeezed it into his mouth. I was hoping he'd touch it and it simply wouldn't decay.

- I like that the Devil makes sure to include the little sticker on his contracts indicating where to sign. That's exactly the kind of little touch I'd expect from the guys who brought us the Crank movies. That and those parts where Johnny narrates his backstory over those sort of animated scenes.

- I love that odd sound that precedes the Rider. I think it's supposed to be his laugh, but it's this strange, sort of strobing whirring sound. I can't describe it, obviously, can't even begin to guess how to write it out so it would make sense. But that's what makes it work. I can't imagine where you'd hear that noise otherwise, and that plays up the unearthly aspect of the Rider.

- Right as the final chase scene starts up, the Rider comes out heading to his bike. I thought he was walking a little funny, like his leather pants were too tight. Then I wondered how his pants could be too tight. He's a skeleton. He should have no ass whatsoever.

- I didn't realize Anthony Stewart Head was in this. For about three minutes, but still. We had Heimdall, Rupert Giles, and the Highlander/Raiden in a Ghost Rider movie. It probably would have been a much better movie if Blaze had been the Rider for say 90% of the film, and just let those guys do most of the talking that isn't going to Nadya. Johnny can appear occasionally to be confused and tired.

So there you go. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Not bad, except for the lead actor.