Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Movie review
From Time Out Online
Co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor claim they were given a free hand on this sequel to the Marvel fantasy franchise movie, featuring Nic Cage as the kick-ass avenger with the flaming skull. However, anyone familiar with the adrenalised, head-smacking violence of their 'Crank' movies will be surprised by this teen-friendly comic-book romp. The tone is slightly darker than in the first instalment, but the 'moderate fantasy violence and horror' (per BBFC) benefit little from their use of 3D.Nicolas Cage reprises his role as cursed ex-stunt rider Johnny Blaze, whose Faustian pact with the Devil has transformed him into a soul-sucking demon known as the Ghost Rider. Unable to live with his demonic alter ego, he has withdrawn from the world, but when biker monk Moreau (Idris Elba) begs him to save a very special young boy from the Devil himself (Ciarán Hinds), the tortured Johnny dons his leathers and fires up his hog.
Neveldine and Taylor's hyper-kinetic visual style works best during the repeated punch-ups between Ghost Rider and Satan's flaxen-haired albino henchman Blackout (Johnny Whitworth). The directing duo also make good use of the Romanian and Turkish locations while exploring the origin's of Johnny's demonic persona, a fallen angel whose spirit of justice was corrupted. On the other hand, a striking cameo by 'Highlander' star Christopher Lambert, as the scarily tattooed monk Methodius, reminds us that supernatural fantasy movies often work best when the film-maker's tongue is planted firmly in the cheek.
Author: Nigel Floyd
Time Out Online
Cast & crew
Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Thrillers
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.
What do you think?
Post your review now