Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Written by David S. Goyer, Scott M. Gimple, and Seth Hoffman
Starring Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciaran Hinds, Fergus Riordan
Released in Theaters February 17, 2012
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language
My Rating: ★★★
Synopsis via Screenrant.com: In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance we catch up to Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage) many years after the events of the first film. “The Rider” has apparently grown into an all-consuming force of nature that Blaze desperately tries to hold in check, until the presence of evil inevitably sets The Rider loose again, to feed on the souls of the guilty.
The Rider is presented with a full buffet of evildoers when a group of ruthless mercenaries storm a church in pursuit of a young boy named Danny Ketch (Fergus Riordan), who The Devil (Ciarán Hinds) intends to use as his human vessel. Blaze claims that The Rider is no savior, but when warrior monk Moreau (Idris Elba) promises to lift the curse from his soul as reward for saving Danny, The Ghost Rider is given new purpose, and an opportunity to be more than just a demon in the night.
I had such high hopes for this movie. I LOVED the first installment; I lurve Nicolas Cage. But, unfortunately, this film fell flat for me. So many things were changed from the first one—it was much creepier and focused more on the action and killing, which weren’t that great at all. There wasn’t a good story behind it. Yeah, the kid is important, and I did like that little twist about the kid’s parentage and all that. But, things just weren’t fleshed out as well as they had been in the first film.
Some things from film one weren’t carried through this time either. Johnny is a loner in this film. He is hiding out—running from his fate. That’s not really consistent with how the last film ended. Yes, he’s still “cursed,” but things ended on a fairly positive note before.
Overall, the quality of the film itself was poor. The plot was horribly lacking. The characters are not rounded out at all. And there were so many inconsistencies from the first film. There is just so much more they could have done with this, and I am super disappointed in how it turned out. I hope if they venture to do a third film, they will spend more time doing it right. I think I’ll wait until I can Netflix that one to try it out, though.
