Ghost Rider

DVD review
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson
Starring Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda, Sam Elliott, Wes Bentley
Release date 12 June 2007 (region 1); 2 July 2007 (region 2)

Stunt biker Johnny Blaze is transformed into the Devil's flaming bounty hunter when he enters into an ill-advised pact to save his father's life…

The most interesting extra on this two-disc DVD sees the creators of the various Ghost Rider comic books discussing their inspirations and influences, from the 1970s to the present day. Each is keen to emphasise the series' dark and tortured take on the Marvel universe, but, sadly, the film itself doesn't manage to do the same.

For the first 40 minutes of the main feature, nothing much happens at all, except for a few bike stunts that don't excite, because they're patently not real. Matt Long lacks charisma as the young Johnny Blaze, and the tedious preamble in which he features keeps both the title character and star Nicolas Cage off-screen far too long.

When the story does kick in, it does so with all the power of a two-stroke scooter, as Blaze's father coughs a bit, to indicate that he has cancer, and Blaze tells him to lay off the smokes – to indicate that he has cancer. Eventually, Blaze Senior receives a letter from his doctor, to indicate that he has cancer, and we zoom in on the word "CANCER" for anyone who might have missed it earlier on.

What follows this revelation should be a dark night of the soul for Blaze, as he struggles with the lengths to which he will go in order to save his dad's skin. But, instead, he is presented with a fait accompli by the underwhelming Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda on autopilot), which is more akin to a door-to-door scam than a Faustian pact.

By dodging this central conceit of the Ghost Rider as spectacularly as a leap across a fleet of buses, the film swiftly discards much of the character's unique appeal. Cast as more of an unfortunate dupe than a lost soul wrestling with his inner demons, Blaze becomes just another cool-looking hero, with all the trappings of a literal hell's angel, but none of the contradiction inherent to that term.

He is a cool-looking hero, though, and the CGI effects in the second-half of the film almost set light to the pedestrian narrative. The best of these scenes has Sam "grizzly mentor" Elliot riding alongside Blaze, as his, er, grizzly mentor, en route to a final showdown with the main villain, Blackheart (Wes Bentley). Sadly, however, when they reach their destination, Elliot simply buggers off and isn't seen again.

The final battle itself is nowhere near as apocalyptic as it should be, and gives little sense of the impending Hell on Earth that Blackheart's victory would apparently portend. It's hard to care what happens to the lugubrious Cage or the oddly perfect Eva Mendes (as Blaze's long-time sweetheart, Roxanne), and a final appearance by Fonda is anti-climactic to say the least.

Aside from the diverting history of the Ghost Rider's comic book evolution, other extras on this set include three 30-minute documentaries on the making of the film and commentaries by writer/director Mark Steven Johnson and visual effects guy Kevin Mack. Dedicated fans of the movie will find plenty to enjoy in these detailed and workmanlike deconstructions, but it's hard to imagine there are many of those, despite the film's popcorn popularity at the box office.

Still, if you like bikes and flaming skulls, Ghost Rider is certainly a cheaper alternative to getting either airbrushed onto a leather jacket. Similarly eye-catching but markedly more lightweight, it's a bare-bones film that never quite catches fire. Simon Hugo

VERDICT: 5/10
Far from a Triumph, hardly a Harley.

Click here to read the original cinema review.