Ghost Rider... vroom vroom.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Just got back from seeing it and have to say it was pretty derned good. Nothing really stood out in particular, but it was a very solid film in general.

You had your action, you had your comedy, you had your little love scenes, and definetely had your special affects. In a way I was a little disapointed with the fight scenes however. None of them really lasted more than a few seconds and they weren't that interesting.

My one major complaint though is the redone Ghost Riders In the Sky song thats being sung by a synthesizer. Sounded so stupid, and the Johnny Cash version would have been much more fitting in all regards.

(Btw, don't bother staying past the credits, nothing happens, though the titles to some of the songs in this movie will cause double takes.)

[Khantalas]

It is a solid movie? After Fantastic Four, Daredevil and the Hulk, I was getting worried about the fate of Marvel comic movies.

Though I would still have watched it.

[Dispozition]

It is obviously an awesome movie, as it was filmed mostly in the city I live it...Or at least...Some of it was.

I'll probably be going to watch it on Saturday...Maybe Sunday. Doesn't look that bad in my opinion.

[Spartan_Samuel]

I don't know, I'm sort of hesitant to see it after knowing that they chose Nicholas Cage to be Ghost Rider. I think Matt Damon would've made a much better Rider.

[Jibar]

the Hulk,

What Hulk movie?
There never was a Hulk movie.

[Khantalas]

Will somebody explain to me what the terrible casting in superhero movies and TV series is all about, anyway?

Not only Nicholas Cage as Ghost Driver, but...

Lana Lang and Lois Lane in Smallville, Elektra in Daredevil, Betty in The Hulk...

Can anyone tell me why are all the hair colors wrong?

[PaleAngel]

Will somebody explain to me what the terrible casting in superhero movies and TV series is all about, anyway?

Not only Nicholas Cage as Ghost Driver, but...

Lana Lang and Lois Lane in Smallville, Elektra in Daredevil, Betty in The Hulk...

Can anyone tell me why are all the hair colors wrong?

But everyone you just mentioned was dark haired, Brunette or Black and played by people with similar hair colors. Sure, Betsy Ross had blonde hair for a while in the 1990's, but we try to forget about that. Besides, Rick's girlfriend during that time was far superior.

[Khantalas]

Lana Lang had red hair. See Kristen Kreuk? What's red haired about her?

Or Elektra with blonde hair? WTF, I tell you.

I don't know about Betty, though. I always remember her as blonde, because I could only watch the cartoons.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

It is a solid movie? After Fantastic Four, Daredevil and the Hulk, I was getting worried about the fate of Marvel comic movies.

Though I would still have watched it.
I agree with you on the last 2, but I thought the Fantastic Four was great...

[Khantalas]

I refused to watch the movie on the grounds of casting.

Casting, I tell you.

Though I can watch it since my initial rage at Jessica Alba as Susan Storm is now calm.

Hey, maybe I can watch Sin City, too!

[Lord of the Helms]

I agree with you on the last 2, but I thought the Fantastic Four was great...

I wouldn't say great, but lightyears ahead of those two pieces of crap at any rate.

[Khantalas]

Though I hated Daredevil more than I hated Hulk. Because I didn't care that much about Hulk.

But Daredevil... how could they do this to us?

[zeratul]

I don't know, I'm sort of hesitant to see it after knowing that they chose Nicholas Cage to be Ghost Rider. I think Matt Damon would've made a much better Rider.

(coming from a matt damon fan who is indifferent usualy twords nick cage) Matt Damon would have made a terrible rider, thats just not a part that would work for him.I think nick cage will make a great one.


I agree with you on the last 2, but I thought the Fantastic Four was great...

no exageration, the fantastic four was the worst movie i have ever seen.


What Hulk movie?
There never was a Hulk movie.
uhm yes there was.

[Jayabalard]

I'm kind of indifferent to the casting in ghostrider, though I see how some people feel the way that they do (http://gucomics.com/archives/view.php?cdate=20070125) about nicholas cage playing ghostrider

[Jibar]

uhm yes there was.

Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up

If we don't talk about it. It never happened.


Hey, another GU Comics reader

[WampaX]

no exageration, the fantastic four was the worst movie i have ever seen.

Haven't seen alot of movies, eh?
Try Captain America (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103923/) sometime and hang your head in shame that you have witnessed it . . .

*hangs head in shame*

Back to topic,
Alright VT, how does Ghost Rider compare to X-Men III. By this comparison, I will deduce whether I wish to see it or not . . .

[That Lanky Bugger]

I'm going to see this tonight, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider. I've liked his work thus far (Snake Eyes was pretty cool, and while 8mm was all shades of messed up he did a good job with it) and according to my roommate, he's a total Ghost Rider fanboy.

If he's a fan, I can't see him doing a bad, or even indifferent job with this.

Though the Spiderman movies will no doubt continue to reign supreme as the king of Marvel movie franchises.

[Tharj TreeSmiter]

Personally I can't stand nick cage. He's like kevin costner, he can only act one role and that one roll is only ok. It probably didn't help that the first movie I saw that starred nick was "face off" and then "Windtalkers" both terrible movies.

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Though the Spiderman movies will no doubt continue to reign supreme as the king of Marvel movie franchises.


Now you see that's where I differ. I think Toby Macguire does great in the Peter Parker role, but the spiderman role, not so much, he's too whiney then and not enough of a smartass...maybe just me, especially since I never liked Mary Jane or Kirsten Dunst

Anyhow, I plan on seeing it, and what I'm going to do, as I attempt to do with most movies like this, is to simply take it for what it is, forgetting the fanboy inside of me crying out heresy...

That being said, yes the Hulk sucked...Daredevil was...meh, and Fantastic four, actually, I thought was ok, not great but at the very least amusing

So yeah, bring on ghost rider

((and god, Xmen 3...so many plot holes...)

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Back to topic,
Alright VT, how does Ghost Rider compare to X-Men III. By this comparison, I will deduce whether I wish to see it or not . . .
Well, now, see, I loved X-Men III while alot of other folks thought it stunk, and my favorite comic-book movies is the X-men trilogy, so I can't say that you'd get a proper idea of it from me.

So all the movies are below X-men. However, I liked it considerably more than Superman Returns.

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Well...after the awesomeness of Batman Begins, there had to be something to balance it out

[Logic]

Here are opinions on Marvel Movies

*Favorites (Best on Top)
Punisher (2003-ish)
Spiderman
X-Men
Spiderman 2
X-Men 2
Hulk (I know I am in the minority here)

*Hated Movies (Worst at Top)
Elektra
Fantastic 4
Daredevil
X-Men 3


I am sure I am missing a few here, but I never did see Captain America.

[Lord Zentei]

The reviewers were not kind: linka (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghost_rider/).

I'm mulling over whether or not to spend an evening on it.

[That Lanky Bugger]

I expected the reviewers to bash the living heck out of it, to be honest. When you walk into a movie, any movie, the trailers should give you an idea about what you're going to be seeing.

You know what you're getting into with Ghost Rider. It's Faust with biker themes. It's going to have some nifty CGI, it's going to have some neat stunts, and it's going to have a lot of the "Wow, that's cool" bits. Professional reviewers always wierd me out about movies like this, to be honest.

Every time one of them complains about how Ghost Rider lacks soul (or depth, or really fantastic acting), I want to hit them. The trailers for Ghost Rider showed him riding up the side of a bloody skyscraper while trailing flames, Nicolas Cage doing a stunt and getting all kinds of messed up, and lines like "I'm fine. I feel like my skull's on fire, but I'm good!", all while "Bad to the Bone" plays in the background. Where the hell do you get a drama with a soul from that?

It's like me turning to a friend while playing PS2 and saying "Hey, you know what would make this system better? Mario!" Playing a PS2, I'm not gonna get Mario. Going into Ghost Rider, I'm not going to get drama. Same thing happened with Snakes on a Plane (though I imagine SoaP was a lot more campy). Reviewers who panned it said that the plot lacked depth, and the premise was stupid. Yet they were the ones who walked into "Snakes on a Plane" expecting drama, which really says a lot about them.

[Starblade]

I plan on seeing it this weekend it dosent look THAT bad to me. May not be oscar winning but i is probably going to be a fun distraction.

If you guys want something bad try David Hasslehoff in Nick Fury Agent of S.H.E.I.L.D. http://www.blockbuster.com/online/search/PerformAdvancedSearchAction?channel=Movies&lowPrice=&mpaaRatingCode=&averageRatingCode=&keywordExact=false&keyword=nick+fury&genre=&subGenre=&mpaaRating=&averageRating=&subChannel=movies+All&search.x=0&search.y=0

[Piedmon_Sama]

I'm honestly nopt sure which of the Marvel movies I hate the most.... Fantastic Four, because it came out right when I was starting to get into the classic FF stories and gen-X'd it to death? Or X-Men III for taking a great series of clever adaptions and turning it into forgettable blockbuster trash? Or maybe Daredevil and The Punisher, for taking a simple concept PERFECT for movies and somehow mucking it up?

At least I have no real investment in Ghost Rider, since I never read the cmoics, so I'll be free to judge this movie pretty much on its own merits.

[Lord Zentei]

It's like me turning to a friend while playing PS2 and saying "Hey, you know what would make this system better? Mario!" Playing a PS2, I'm not gonna get Mario. Going into Ghost Rider, I'm not going to get drama. Same thing happened with Snakes on a Plane (though I imagine SoaP was a lot more campy). Reviewers who panned it said that the plot lacked depth, and the premise was stupid. Yet they were the ones who walked into "Snakes on a Plane" expecting drama, which really says a lot about them.

I doubt that they expected anything better than what they received; they simply see the lack of drama as a detriment regardless.

On that note, lowering expectations doesn't strike me as being much of an excuse. Comedic, escapist entertainment can have quality storytelling too, after all: see the main site.

[That Lanky Bugger]

Lord Zentei, I think this is where you and I differ a little bit. As long as the visual effects are fantastically done and the action is well planned, I can ignore a plot that is average. I don't go into an action movie expecting a fantastic plot: It's nice if it has one, but the entire genre is littered with good action movies with cheesy, cliched plots.

I don't see this as a matter of lowering my expectations, it's me having different expectations. I expect a decent plot and fantastic action. Because let's face it, if I go into an action movie I'd expect (no, DEMAND!) that if any portion is going to be fantastic, it be those action scenes. If I go into an action movie with a fantastic plot and average action, I'm going to be a little angry, to tell you the truth.

Now, a really GOOD movie will rise above this and deliver fantastic in all areas. I don't expect to go see a really GOOD movie every time because it's not a realistic expecation. I don't judge movies on preconcieved merits, instead I walk out of the theater and ask myself "Did I enjoy that?"

If yes, it did what it was meant to do and was thus a good movie. If it did not, it didn't do what is was supposed to do and was a bad movie.

[Lord Zentei]

Lord Zentei, I think this is where you and I differ a little bit. As long as the visual effects are fantastically done and the action is well planned, I can ignore a plot that is average. I don't go into an action movie expecting a fantastic plot: It's nice if it has one, but the entire genre is littered with good action movies with cheesy, cliched plots.

I don't see this as a matter of lowering my expectations, it's me having different expectations. I expect a decent plot and fantastic action. Because let's face it, if I go into an action movie I'd expect (no, DEMAND!) that if any portion is going to be fantastic, it be those action scenes. If I go into an action movie with a fantastic plot and average action, I'm going to be a little angry, to tell you the truth.

OK, I guess that's reasonable - if the plot is indeed "average" and not "poor". :smallwink:

Of course the action should be well executed, no disagreements there. But good action and good plot needn't be mutually exclusive: and greedy bastard that I am, I tend to want both good plot and good presentation (though I can make do with popcorn flics every now and then).


Now, a really GOOD movie will rise above this and deliver fantastic in all areas. I don't expect to go see a really GOOD movie every time because it's not a realistic expecation. I don't judge movies on preconcieved merits, instead I walk out of the theater and ask myself "Did I enjoy that?"

If yes, it did what it was meant to do and was thus a good movie. If it did not, it didn't do what is was supposed to do and was a bad movie.

Well, there is a difference between an action movie whose plot is "good enough" and one whose plot is "bad". I rather got the impression from reviews that this was of the latter kind. Of course, I haven't seen it, and if you have and assert that the plot is "good enough", I might give it a chance anyway.

Though on one point we do seem to disagree: I don't deem a movie "good" if it merely delivers what is expected, that would be "passable". As an analogy: a C grade student is not expected to score an A. If he scores a C, he passes, but one would not judge him a "good" student. It may be unreasonable to expect only A grade movies each time, but then, one has to pick and choose anyway, so I tend to try and patronize the "good" ones. Finicky perhaps, but there you go.

Also: I get a mite vexed when I see an "average" or "below average" project that could have been "good" with a little more effort in the storytelling arena. And in general, I'm a bit disapointed with much of Hollywood's work of recent, especially with the comic book adaptions, so there's that.

[TheEmerged]

RE: Fantastic Four. This was a good movie... if you could perform the mental disassociation that the villain on the screen wasn't supposed to be DOOM. I was warned about this by a friend and went in with this understanding, and so enjoyed it. Oh, and Alba did better than I expected, which is not a compliment.

Hulk

Though I hated Daredevil more than I hated Hulk. Because I didn't care that much about Hulk.

/yodavoice
That... that is why it failed
/endvoice

I can't remember a movie where I just... didn't... care... to the extent of the alleged Hulk movie. None of the characters were sympathetic, nor were the villains hateable. And don't get me started on the fact that Hulk is now supposed to be a speedster...

RE: Daredevil. Should be requried viewing for future screenwriters / movie producers as an example of what NOT to do. But I'm in danger of digressing if I get started here.

RE: X-Men 3. Its primary sin, in my opinion, was that for the first time in the series the movie's political agenda got in the way of the story. After this comes the fact that an OBVIOUS solution to the dilema at the end didn't get used...

RE: Cage as Ghost Rider. I'm not exactly a fan of his, but I can sorta see it. I'm waiting until DVD to rent it though.

RE: My ranking of superheroic movies. Speaking for myself, in my current mood...


The Phantom. One of the most mis-marketed movies ever. True to its roots, great character work... and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a catsuit.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Rare example of a retcon actually improving a character, and yes I even think it's better than Bayman Begins.
Spiderman 1, Spiderman 2. Tie, really can't say I like one better than the other.
Superman 1. Because I believed a man could fly.
X-Men 2. Nightcrawler, done almost perfectly (if you excuse the self-scaring thing).
Batman Begins. The only thing I might have to explain here is why it isn't ranked higher :P
X-Men 1. Would be higher ranked, if it weren't for the competition.
BATMAN. Yes, the original Adam West one. Yes, I'm ranking it better than any of the other live-action films not listed -- because it succeeded at what it was trying to be.
BAD Movies

Puma Man. I have fond memories watching this with my father on late night TV back when I was a kid. Especially the bizarre look on his face during some of the stupider sequences :)
X-Men 3. I won't quite go so far as to list it with Catwoman & Hulk, but the political heavy-handedness overrode the story to such a point it was almost painful.
Catwoman. 'Nuff said.
Hulk. 'Nuff said.
Captain America. Yes, I saw it. 'Nuff said.

[Khantalas]

Hey, there is a required viewing for script / screenplay writers as an example of what NOT to do.

To our proud shame, it's a Turkish movie. The one that literally ripped off scenes from A New Hope and had a planet that could destroy and rebuild itself as a defense against brain-eating monsters.

[NecroPaladin]

I like Ghost Rider. The problem is that he could never be anything but a B-movie character. EVER. And Marvel doesn't seem to notice that. Despite the fact that he's kinda their spawn. I mean, their child. Spawn is Todd Mcfarlane's.

And GU Comics fanbase! Didn't know there were readers on these forums.

[Raistlin1040]

Looks pretty good. I'd go see it.

[That Lanky Bugger]

Okay, now that I have actually seen it and thus, am not just talking out my ass...

It's a good movie. The plot is decent, the action scenes are amazing, and Nicolas Cage did a really damned good job with Johnny Blaze. As VT noted, however, they set up four opponents and only the last fight really lasts all that long. If you take a washroom break mid-movie you may find yourself wondering where one of the villains went.

But damn... The movie was REALLY pretty. As someone who's done work in the CGI business and keeps in contact with a few friends who craft CGI for a living, I know just how hard it is to make really pretty flames. Most flames you see which are CGI are actually shots of flames interposed onto the screen from seperately filming them, but these flames looked to be the genuine article and they were REALLY well done. Likewise, Johnny Blaze transforming to and from Ghost Rider is really well done and at no point do you look at his skeleton face and think to yourself "faaaaake".

[Dispozition]

Okay, now that I have actually seen it and thus, am not just talking out my ass...

Wait...Don't you always do that though? :smallbiggrin:

[That Lanky Bugger]

It IS my default mode, but sometimes I manage to get things right.:smallwink:

[TheThan]

Ok I just got back from seeing ghost rider and I can easily say I expected it to be much worse. Really it’s worth the matinee fee. I expected it to be another lackluster marvel movie like the alleged hulk movie I keep hearing about. I could easily imagine Nick Cage as ghost rider, and he does a good job with the roll and the CG effects are impressive. There are a few plot points that are ignored. But still the movie stands up on its own.

The problem with movie critics is that they tend to be HEAVILY biased one way or another. So I don’t usually listen to them.

[ray53208]

Well, now, see, I loved X-Men III while alot of other folks thought it stunk, and my favorite comic-book movies is the X-men trilogy, so I can't say that you'd get a proper idea of it from me.

So all the movies are below X-men. However, I liked it considerably more than Superman Returns.

you liked xmen3? wow. wow. i wanted to slam ratners head in a door for 2 and half hours after being subjected to that travesty.

rotten tomato is not being very kind to ghost rider. nor should it.

[Beleriphon]

I supposed I should tell you what I thought about Ghost Rider.

I liked it, quite a bit. Eva Mendes was the only minor weak point in an otherwise terrifically fun movie. Nick Cage as Ghost Rider was good, very entertaining. I agree the fight scenes were short, by they did a good job of showing how powerful Ghost Rider really is both physically and mystically. The Hidden aren't that much of a challenge of Ghost Rider of defeat for a reason.

[Weirdlet]

Personally, I really liked the movie, even though I thought some things could have been rearranged and clarified- the story/what things were happening where *was* rushed, it's just that everything else was hitting so many good notes with me that I didn't have time to care.

I happen to like Nick Cage, although I can see where some people might not care for him- I think he pulls off a realistic human being very well, which is not as easy as it seems. In my experience, there can be movie people and human people, and the two can be vastly different.

[Death, your friend the Reaper]

(Btw, don't bother staying past the credits, nothing happens, though the titles to some of the songs in this movie will cause double takes.)

(It's always good to check up on these things.)

Looking over what people have said it makes me wish to check it out, I did enjoy AirCon, and not being much of a movie Reaperess, It is good to have people's views on shows that I was thinking of seeing.

[That Lanky Bugger]

Regarding the fight scenes (saw it again last night because my roommate didn't want to go alone, and she offered to pay), they could have made them longer. In particular, I was disappointed in the fight with the air elemental.

Really, it would have been pretty badass if they'd done this as a running battle. Ghost Rider and the elemental both had the mobility to be fighting while travelling up the side of the building, and that would have been pretty awesome.

Likewise, the water elemental's battle could have been a lot better. GR and he could have been battling across the water, with the elemental using the environment to his advantage. I mean, I expected the first guy to just go... but you don't really feel menaced by any of these guys.

They're like the villains who got beat up by other villains in school. Venom and Juggernaut probably stole their milk money and threw their homework in a puddle.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I really have no intention of seeing it. I'm not really a huge comic book fan to begin with, so I'm not really into those movies a whole lot. That and there are a lot of other movies that I really want to see that I think will be much better. Hannibal Rising and Breach (which are out right now) and Number 23 looks good too.

[Swamprat]

I enjoyed the movie, thought it was an interesting take on the ghost rider comic. Yeah fight scences were a bit short and had me wondering why when the movie wasnt really that long. However he is the devil's chosen enforcer so he should be tough really...

Nicholas Cage in some decent movies, Lord of War, thought this was a great movie and couldnt really picture to many people in the role. Yeah i didnt agree with him much in face off, yet Con Air is also a good movie.

[Logos7]

Fun Movie, I'd give it 2 1/2 /4 ( If your a Fan +1)

Some of the Plot Points Irked Me, the Flames Looked Awesome However. I'm a big fan and while the above monetion plot mess ups/adaptations are annoying it's worth the fare ,if you think 23 is somehow gonna rock you socks in a way this is not, well i don't even know why your posting ;)

Logos

[The J Pizzel]

I watched it Fri. night and this is my first chance to post. Honetly, it was exactly what I was expecting. A crappy, mainstream movie with horrible acting, horrible fight scenes, shallow characters with no development, etc. The one thing I thoroughly enjoyed however, was the CGI (just like X-Men 3). I'll happily second anyone who said the graphics were beyond astonishing. The few scenes were he switches on screen from Johnny Blaze to GR was downright beautiful. But on a whole, It wasn't good and I won't be watching it again or buying it. It ranks as low as Elektra and Daredevil to me.

Edit - oh yeah, the remake of Ghost Riders in the Sky was HORRIBLE. And I agree that the fight scenes were not only too fast, but the elemental bad guys were horrible actors. The dialogue between them was horrible as well as the dialogue between Cage and that Mephisto (sp) guy. And I was getting real tired of them messing with their voices. Pick a tone people.

[ravenkith]

Take GR, as it stands, and compare it to Blade, the first one, that is.

It just doesn't stand up.

I mean both characters are from the same level and genre in the marvel universe (B, action/horror), both are hunters, if you will.

Blade had maybe a few dozen issues to work with, while Ghost Rider had literally thousands of pages behind it, with three iterations of the character (The original Wild West rider, the 60's Johnny Blaze, and the 90s Dan Ketch).

Both of them are supposed to deal with the supernatural: Blade's rightful prey are any and all vampires, while Ghost Rider hunts down the demonic and devilish, the rogue elements of the big D's team, the guys who get out of line, with a few small fry on the side (thugs rapists, mortals, etc.).

With GR, Marvel tried to do too much, too fast, and combine too many different aspects of the three characters.

Personally, I would have gone with the Dan Ketch version of the GR. I would have had him and his sister poring through a junkyard, looking for spare parts, trying to make a buck. They happen on a drug deal that goes south, both of them get shot. She dies. He's wounded.

He runs, eventually collapses after climbing a stack of cars in order to escape the bad guys. His blood drips down, running along the cars hoods & trim as the opening credits continue to roll, eventually spattering on the gas cap of a motorcycle that's buried under the stack of cars. The blood catches fire, and the fire races back up the trail of blood to the limp form of an unconscious Ketch, who suddenly opens his eyes, which have become flames. The screen goes black, screams are heard, and it the cuts to Ketch's face, mushed into a pillow as he wakes up the next morning in his own bed.

Ketch, worried, remembers seeing his sister shot, and he tries to call her, and then heads downstairs, coming across the bike that was glimsped the night before in the junkyard. It is clearly a dirt/stunt bike of some kind, with flames painted on the gas tank, a ripped leather seat. It's seen better days, but Ketch is drawn to it, the keys are in it, and he's in a hurry, so he takes the bike.

He heads to the junkyard, where he discovers that the place is crawling with cops, and something weird is going on, with news crews and choppers everywhere. Snatches of the reports can be heard, mentioning 'coma-like states' and 'victims are badly beaten' and 'only one fatality, due to a gun shot wound'.

Ketch talks to a female detective, explains that he's looking for his sister, Barbara, and that she was supposed to come out the the yard the night before to look for salvageable scrap. She tells him that his sister may be dead, and asks him to come downtown to identify the body.

He goes with the cop in her car, clearly shaken, and sure enough, the body is his sister's. He spends most fof the day downtown, with paperwork, arranging for the autopsy, and the post-autopsy state funeral (given that he doesn't have a lot of money).

He finds himself on the late train out of the city, trying to get back to his apartment, only to get attacked on the train by a guy with a knife. The lights flicker on the train, as another train passes, and we cut to that train, where an unholy glow can be seen in the original train (the one danny is being attacked in).

Cut back to the wake up scene of Danny again, sunlight hitting his face, his eyes open blearily. He sits bolt upright, feeling his chest, clearly freaking out. "This passing out crap is getting old," he says, after making sure he isn't hurt. Curious, he checks where he was shot (flashing back to remind the audience that he did get pretty badly hurt), only to discover no wound, just slightly puckered flesh.

Clearly depressed, he shuffles out of bed in his boxers (eye candy for the ladies), and grabs some cereal (dry, the milk's green), and slumps into a beaten up recliner, cutting on the bunny-ear tv (too poor for cable). Cuts to the news, talking about a sports event, then after a minute or so of him sitting there moping, cuts to aother news segment, with a 'mature only warning' of shaky & grainy 'home footage' of the GR incident the night before, making it look like GR is a monster attacking the guy.

Newscasters talk about a similar monster being seen before, 30 years ago, blah blah blah, links to a particular circus (the blaze family one) who identified himself as the ghost rider. Ketch, recognizing the guy from the night before, starts freaking out, has a flashback of GR standing over his sister's body, beating up the guys who shot her and, thinking that GR saved him, resolves to find him.

Does some web research on the circus, finds they still exist, goes to see the owner, who is Johnny Blaze. Blaze recognizes the bike, (which 'somehow' got back to the apartment) as his own, from when he was the ghost rider, but doesn't say anything.

Ketch tells him, apologizing for sounding crazy, that he's looking for GR, to which Blaze responds with 'look in a mirror'. After discussion, Blaze goes on to explain that Dan has been possessed by the spirit of vengeance, which was locked long ago in the motorcycle he used to use for his stunts, and which can only be let out through a human host and an infusion of innocent blood on a monthly basis.

He further explains that the spirit will be upon him until Danny gets the vengeance he wanted at the time of his fusion with said spirit. Danny realizes that he has unfinished business with his sisters killers. Blaze and Ketch go through a ritual together that let's Ketch be conscious & partially control what the spirit does, (allowing the audience to see it too) and the rest of the movie follows him getting said vengeance, figuring out the 'only at night' limitation the hard way, indicating that Johnny left a few things out.

He finally tracks down the man who runs the gang that was running the drugs, and, after fighting his way through many minions, finally catches the guy, and hits him with the penance stare, burning the guy's soul until it is forced out of the body, where shadowy hands come up from the ground (a la ghost), and yank the spirit form down to hell, screaming the entire way, which leaves the guy's body in the coma-like state referred to earlier in the movie.

At the end of the movie, Ketch is riding off across the desert, sun setting as he goes, cutting on the lights on the bike. The camera pans back, to a man in a white suit, standing on a hill, overlooking the departing Ketch, leaning on a cane, raven on his shoulder.

"Ah, my Rider. We haven't even gotten started yet," the man says, before the raven takes flight and the credits roll.

The second movie introduces the anti-demon element, the devil, etc, and teams up caretaker (the original Ghost Rider), Johnny Blaze (armed with a hellfire shotgun) and Dan Ketch up against Blackheart & his Minions as they seek to free their mother (Lilith), which would bring about the end of days before the devil's ready (Ol Be-El doesn't have the power to go one-on-one with the big G just yet).

THAT movie ends with GR absorbing the souls of the other two (fallen) previous GR's, and thus, their power, keeping the souls from going to hell in the process. Be-El is taken by surprise, when ghost rider, clearly more powerful than before (brighter/more powerful flame?) backhands him as he gloats over the body of Blackheart, grabbing hold of Ol' Nick, and turning the penance stare on him.

Be-El, defeated, but ingracious as always, spits at GR, and claims, "I may be going back to hell, but I'm taking you with me!"

Everything goes black, then the lights come up on a huge hellscape, spiralling down, down down, zooming in to the back of a head:
Ketch's.
"Oh crap" says Ketch, taking it in.
"You're telling me," Comes a voice from the right: it's Original GR.
"Yeah, we're screwed" from the left: Blaze.
"No. I'm not done yet." From Behind: Ghost Rider.

Roll credits.
The third movie revolves around the four of them surviving in hell, and working their way to the devil's sanctum to get the physical representations of the contracts that bind their souls to the spirit of vengeance, and destroy them, so they can return to the real world, free of the curse, and once again in possession of their souls.

It explains Caretaker's (Original Ghost Rider) continued empowerment as a mistake on the devil's part: he imbued caretaker's flesh with the power, making it Caretaker's own, and making it possible for caretaker to rebel against him and keep the power he had gained, because the Demon Zarathos (the original spirit of vengeance) was part of him and could not be removed without destroying the contract that bound them both.

It also explains that by imposing the limitations on the new spirit of vengeance, the devil had greater control over his rider, and made sure that the new rider couldn't actively rebel and turn the power against him.

When the three became one, those limitations were overridden, hence making the 'side trip to hell' possible.

GR and OGR have power in hell, but Ketch and Blaze don't: however, while they can be hurt and captured, they can't be killed in hell: a property of the place that allows for the famed 'eternal suffering'.

The four of them manage to arm themselves...the rest of the movie follows their trials and eventual escape, but GR has to stay in hell, grappling with the devil to keep him from interfering with Ketch, Blaze & Caretaker from leaving, and, OGR, upon returning to the real world, ages rapidly, and dies, his soul going to heaven...Blaze and Ketch watching.

At the end of the movie, it cuts to a view of the bike, in a junkyard somewhere, rusted and rotting, bright sunlight everywhere. Then a shadow falls across the bike, right before the credits roll.

What do you think? Better?

[Tharj TreeSmiter]

hmm let me think, should I spend $20 (two tickets) to watch a terrible actor (cage) in a rediculous action movie??

I'll pass

[Dispozition]

The actual movie wasn't too bad...But the ghost rider looked REALLY REALLY BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But the old ghost rider looked awesome...The one on the horse.

Anyway...Not too bad a movie. Not as good as it could have been, but still not that bad.

[theswarm]

I'm with ya on all your picks (except Batman Begins, I would have put it higher). Ghost Rider was good. Nothing great, but good all around with a great hardcore hero.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I disagree with the opinions that Ghost Rider was a terrible movie. I went into it expecting the movie to be horrible but it wasn't. It was actually pretty good. I rank it up there with super-hero favorite movies like Spider-man and X-men.

Saying theres no character development? Neither did Spider-man one so that must be a bad movie then too, huh? :smallwink:

[Dariendel]

It was alright. It's the first time I appreciated Eva Mendez's boobs.

But it suffers something that Elektra suffered: Very Weak Opponents.

And I wish there were more punishing of the Guilty.

[Dispozition]

It was filmed in Melbourne...Well, some of it anyway. So it must have been good!!!

You know the jump scene over the helicopters, that's the bit in Melbourne. I think there were some other bits as well.

[Maxymiuk]

As with any movie I see, I give myself a couple of days to mull over it before deciding whether I liked it or not.

On one side it has a decent main character, cool CGI, and grounds for a good redemption story.

On the other hand, the story is way too rushed, and there's a

whiny "I'm so evil I kill random people for kicks" emo juvenile villain, who's world domination scheme is a poorly thought out act of rebellion against his parent.

I mean, damn. What happened to the real bad guys?

[slipnslide]

i think im gonna pass on this one.