Ghost Rider

I didn't like it. It's not a terrible movie the way Daredevil is, but it's an utter drag. I admit the story isn't hot (so to speak), and I definitely exclaimed a patented Matt Zimmer "This is awful!" at the end in the scene between Johnny and Roxanne (where he says he's a monster and she says she's not afraid). But...

The truth is, the script is okay. The direction is okay. And I cannot for the life of me remember the last time I ever leveled this complaint against a major project. I sometimes have noted it about projects I already don't like, but this specific thing is always an additional flaw, and usually not the main complaint. If this flaw did not exist in this movie, it might have actually been good. And this is not a complaint I use often for modern films, because it's not usually a problem in modern films, particularly big-budget ones with name actors.

Almost all of the roles were miscast. Or badly performed. Or both. There is legit bad acting, and acting that should have been done by somebody else entirely here. Bad acting is not a complaint usually leveled against most modern projects. The Razzies (for actors at least) are no longer relevant in my mind. Even the crappiest of movies and shows can hire decent actors. Bad acting is very much a problem than effected movies decades ago and hasn't really been a factor since the 1990's. You still found some in B projects back then, but even Bruce Campbell is good, and as we got into the 2010's even Sharknado has decent performances. Even porn stars are okay now (don't ask me how I know that).

But Nicholas Cage is beyond miscast as Johnny Blaze. How miscast? They can't even use his voice for Ghost Rider. They either treated it beyond recognition or hired another guy. And Cage's actual acting talent has been subject of rigorous debate among film fans (the TV comedy Community devoted an episode to this specific controversy) and while it's true that I don't watch a lot of Cage stuff, he is sleepwalking through the role here. He seems utterly bored and in it entirely for the paycheck.

Sam Elliott was absolutely fine in the Hulk movie, and in fact elevated that. He seems to be slumming here. Mephistopheles is for some reason an utterly forgettable Peter Fonda, who adds nothing to the role. The kid who plays a young Johnny looks and sounds nothing like Nicholas Cage, especially not his performance as Johnny. And most damning (and Hollywood) of all, is that I am pretty sure Eva Mendes is probably the exact same age as the actress who played her as a 17 year old. Mendes is so young she can't ever be mistaken for the same age as Cage. Even in 2021, Mendes is still a pretty hot ticket, so this is doubly stupid.

So those are my major gripes. We'll talk briefly about what else the movie did right and wrong.

I felt it was wrong that Mephistopheles essentially tricked Johnny with his bargain. If you want to compare Marvel and DC Comics, Lucifer Morningstar has it ALL over Mephistopheles. He's interesting because he's surprisingly fair and decent. Mephistopheles being a predictable bunghole doesn't impress me in the least.

The end of Johnny claiming he'll use his power against him and Mephistopheles raging against that, suggested characters more sure of their place in the new status quo going forward than they should be. The Devil is far more enraged than he rationally should be at that threat. If he has the juice he is supposed to have, Johnny will be a minor thorn in the future at best. What's the big whoop? What's he so mad for?

I like the Caretaker's idea that because Johnny sold his soul for love, it can perhaps be redeemed. That's not actually how selling souls works in most fiction. As a matter of fact, selling your soul for love is actually quite common in fiction. But it's a cool idea to explore.

It's not a bad film. It's a badly acted film. That's its actual problem. **1/2.