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Ghost Rider (2007)

Director: Mark Steven Johnson

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Synopsis

Film version of the comic book about a motorcycle stuntman who sells his soul to the devil.

Movie review

From Time Out London

When young stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Matt Long) enters into a two-way pact with the Devil to cure his father of cancer, the small print later reveals that he’s also signed up to collect the Devil's unpaid bounties. This bland new money-spinner from the Marvel Comics stable manages to notch up a level of camp that makes ‘Batman and Robin’ look like it was directed by Bergman. Nic Cage seems comfortable in the role of the flaming-skulled biker, but the plot holes are too deep even for his Herbie-like arachnid motorcycle to negotiate. Stock bad guys, characterised by their dirty teeth and sodden leather jackets, are all dispatched in a painfully lacklustre manner while the voluptuous Eva Mendes, who plays Blaze’s spurned belle, seems to have been contractually obliged to reveal as much of her ample bosom as the rating will allow.

Naturally, the ending tees up a sequel, but you’re still no clearer as to who or what Ghost Rider is. At least with ‘X-Men’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ the characters are easily identifiable by their related superpower. Ghost Rider, it appears, has been bestowed with the ability to set his head on fire and look into people’s souls to turn their past evils against them; not the most useful skill when you’re fighting an all-or-nothing war with the Devil’s son (Wes Bentley). There’s also a certain irony to the fact that Peter Fonda – known for his turn in ‘Easy Rider’ as the dope-smuggling outlaw who casually flicked a mid-digit towards corporate America from the helm of his glistening Chopper – turns up here as the Devil.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 1906: February 28-March 7 2007

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