I once ate a jar full of very hot-chillies in one sitting, and then washed them down with a whole bottle of vodka mixed with turpentine. I like to call this combination 'The Spirit of Vengeance'. Unlike this film Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor; plus Starring: Nicolas Cage, Johnny Whitworth, Ciarán Hinds, with Violante Placido. It was made in 2011 and lasts for 95-minutes.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
THE STORY:
Do you know what? Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) should know
better than to make deals with other people. Especially since the last deal he
made involved him being turned into the hit-man from hell, Ghost Rider, by the
devil named Roarke (Ciarán Hinds).
Nonetheless, like the possessed buffoon that he is, Johnny
agrees to a proposition posed to him by the drunken monk, Moreau (Idris Elba),
to save the devils son, Danny (Fergus Riordan), from an arms-dealer called Ray
(Johnny Whitworth), who was hired by Roarke to capture his own flesh and blood in the
first place. Moreover, to give Johnny some extra added incentive, Moreau
promise's him that his 'holy tribe' will expunge the devil from his inner soul
if he is successful with this mission.
Wow! I am sure that this sound's like a straight forward
deal; doesn't it? However, I am afraid to say that there is nothing straight
about forward about how this adventure then plays out. Quite ying-yang in fact.
You see, on a bad side of things, when 'The Rider' first
tracks down Danny, rather than saving him from Ray, instead Danny is snatched
from his mother arms, Nadya's (Violante Placido), by Ray, and then manage to
get away Scott Free. Whereas, on the good side of things, the second time there
paths cross, 'The Rider' is able to redeem himself by returning Danny back to
his Mother and kill Ray not so long after.
Phew! Adventure over, right? Wrong.
Alas, as soon as Roarke witnesses the aftermath of this ordeal, he brings Ray back to life as 'the lord of decay', just in time for what next to transpire to be one hell of a shindig. As Johnny is reborn - Danny is torn - families start to jell - and the devil goes to hell.
Alas, as soon as Roarke witnesses the aftermath of this ordeal, he brings Ray back to life as 'the lord of decay', just in time for what next to transpire to be one hell of a shindig. As Johnny is reborn - Danny is torn - families start to jell - and the devil goes to hell.
THE REVIEW:
Now to be perfectly honest with you, I did not really mind
watching the first 'Ghost Rider' film (click here for review) at all. I personally
felt that it was a fairly decent comic book adaptation, whose only
pitfall was the lack of a decent villain and a mumbled story-line. Though,
where 'Ghost Rider - Spirit of Vengeance' is concerned, I felt that it was just
like being sick.
Yes. Correct. I did just compare this film to 'expunging your
innards'. Please note though, this 'endeavor' does have both positive and
negative connotations behind it. On the one hand, you can feel quite
euphoric after spewing your guts up into the toilette basin. Whereas, on the
other hand, it does leave a rather bitter taste afterwards. Here, please allow
me to reiterate on my implication in an advantage / disadvantage fashion.
ADVANTAGE: (1) I genuinely liked most of the scenes between Nicolas and Idris, because these two fine actors added some much needed
character and pathos into the proceedings, without it feeling like exposition.
Also, for what he had to play with, I felt that Johnny Whitworth didn't do a
bad job of 'hired goon with a twist' either. (2) The majority of the special effects in this flick were just great. I particularly liked the way 'The Rider' transformed whatever
vehicle he was riding into some sort of flaming chariot, and I was looking forward to him
going ice-skating sometime during this adventure, ha! (3) The intermediate
animation segments were really nice to follow, lavishing this film with some
artistic and cleverly constructed panache and charm.
DISADVANTAGE: (1) The last film worked best by juxtaposing
both the dark side and the light side in Johnny's character in tandem. But I am
sad to say that this film has done away with this component completely, and was
heightened more so because most of the supporting cast seemed very intense for
the sheer hell of it. (2) On occasion I felt that the camera-man must have been
pissed out of his head. Well, the screen seemed to shudder and tilt here and
there for no apparent reason what so ever. (3) The 'black-out' fighting scenes
did not really work within the style of this movie. If anything, it took me out
of the picture due to the abrupt nature of this 'effect'. (4) The concept
behind this film was a good one to explore - the path of the devil and his son.
However, this film explored this aspect in a very-fractured way, making this
segment of the 'bigger picture' come across as a 'sub-plot' at best.
OK, I know that I could go on and on about 'Ghost Rider -
Spirit of Vengeance', and explain how it needed some extra jazz to make it into
a 'better film'. But I don't want to do that, do I? I want to give you some
film-facts: (1) Unfortunately the pretty-pretty actress, Eva Mendes, turned down
the offer to reprise her role on this film. Whereas Peter Fonda would have
liked to have returned as Mephistopheles. (2) Johnny Whitworth was born on
Halloween in 1995. (3) Johnny Blaze's motorcycle in this project is the Yamaha
VMax. Also, 'The Riders' skull was redesigned for this movie. Implying
that it is actually on fire. (4) Nicolas Cage's father, August, is a literature
professor, and the brother of famed 'Godfather' director, Frances Ford Coppola.
Nick changed his surname early on in his career, so that this association did
not hinder his filmic future. (5) This movie has a website. www.thespiritofvengeance.com.
(6) Ciarán Hinds is Irish, and is good friends with Liam Neeson too. (7)
Director, Tim Burton, cast Nick in his doomed Superman project. (8) This
adventure did not have a critics pre-screening. (9) Critical reception has been
negative for this comic book sequel. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 18% rating
based on 97 reviews.
Did you read points 9 and 10 of my trivia splurge?
Tut-Tut-Tut! The makers of this movie knew that there was something wrong with
this film before its initial release, and this summation has been backed-up by my fellow
filmic-elite too! Shame really. I have always liked 'Ghost Rider' as a character.
And I was hoping that those with the 'cash to splash' would have liked him enough
to do him some justice.
Well, come on, the origin and the concept behind 'flame
head' is good one to explore. Nicolas Cage is a great actor. The special
effects were up to par. All they needed was a decent script to propel this
franchise into infamy and beyond! Agreed Nick?
Hmmm? No comment. I feel ill, Bluurrrg!
THE RATING: B-
GHOST RIDER - SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
August 28, 2012
Rating: