Movie #16: Ghost Rider

[asterroc]

So get this: it's the Wild West and every generation some stupid fuck makes a deal with the devil and in exchange becomes an avenging spirit whose entire body bursts into flame, along with his horse, and leaves these flaming footprints and hoofprints behind, and goes around collecting on the devil's outstanding contracts because he's suck an evil fuck in addition to being a stupid one. Only now it's today, the stupid fuck is Nicholas Cage, it's a motorcycle with flaming treads, and he's a good agent of the devil.

No, I don't get it either. The movie (Wikipedia, IMDB) was okay, just like I'd expected. Cage wasn't quite the pathetic puppydog he usually is in movies, but he wasn't as badass as the character required. I didn't follow the whole contract thing in the plot, but Wikipedia of course made it clear to me. The "pennance stare" is kinda silly. There's this whole thing going on about how doing the work of the devil is really doing good by making evil people suffer and all that, but it's not explored all that well, and even when Johnny Blaze defies the devil at the end, things aren't quite clear - it appears the devil can't break a contract, but the mortal can to some extent?

(And before you chew me out that Mephisto isn't the devil, try telling me where in the movie it says that.)

To sum up: Glad I didn't see it in the theater. Could've done w/o it at home too.

Edit: Oh, and it's got the worst choice of child-version actor ever. I found myself cracking up when it was revealed that he was the main character of the movie as they look NOTHING alike at all. I thought it was going to be Cage's character's father or something. Not at ALL like him.

Comments

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Hoo, we watched this one a while back. It was such a brainless popcorn movie, and it could have been better in a lot of places for sure! My husband liked the stunts. IIRC, Monument Valley is all over the place. That always bugs me in movies!

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I thought it was interesting that it was set in some Texas city - though I don't know which one - b/c most movies set in potentially recognizable cities are on the coasts.

[seekingferret.livejournal.com]

I've always liked the Ghost Rider comics, but Nicholas Cage never really made sense for the part. I've never seen the movie, as a result. The problem is that Cage is a big comic book fan and cast around trying to find a movie he could play a comic book hero in. Thankfully, they didn't let him play Superman. But I guess they figured Ghost Rider wasn't a big enough name to draw fans without a big name box office draw, and Cage was willing.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I presume that the sequences where the Ghost Rider took him over were also him doing the body acting, and I have to say he did that well. It's just his facial expressions that bug me.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

He really does the dopey look well. Play to your strengths, I say!

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Our descriptions of Cage here are starting to remind me of Keanu Reeves. As much as everyone mocks him, I have to say I really like Keanu's body acting - I mentally block out his face and just watch the rest of his body language, and he's amazing.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I guess I've never paid that kind of attention to any acting, but now I will.

[seekingferret.livejournal.com]

Actors, in general, have a certain range. The better actors have a broader range, of course, but there are always limits. I like Cage a lot, but I've seen him hit a lot of points on his range and it would have surprised me if Ghost Rider were in it. The frustrating thing is that I think he would have made a fine Hulk, a Daredevil at least better than Affleck, and possibly even a decent Batman- not Christian Bale good, and not if they're going for Frank Miller-style Batman like they've been aiming for recently, but one of the old-style, goofier Batmans certainly. But Ghost Rider never made sense.