The birth of the Ghost Rider character back in the early 1970’s ushered in a new era for Marvel Comics.
The era of the anti-hero and the idea that something born of evil may do exactly the opposite.
So where does Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance fit on the Marvel Comics spectrum?
Well for starters, it’s good to still have Nicholas Cage as our skull-headed protagonist Johnny Blaze again, but with a new film comes new co-stars, including Idris Elba as the drunken monk Moreau, and Ciaran Hinds as Roarke.
When a secret sect of the church asks Johnny Blaze to free a boy from the clutches of the devil, it’s not too long before our self-exiled hero is back on his bike and riding off into the distance, still living in hope that he can free himself from the Ghost Rider curse.
Admittedly, the plot line does sound bland and unoriginal, but that’s because it is, and that’s just the start of the problems.
Admittedly, the budget cut doesn’t help, so now, more time has been spent failing to make this film 3D worthy, and as a result, it still lacks that real dark edge that it so desperately needs. Coupling that with a Nicolas Cage performance that’s so predictable, it’s no longer exciting, the Ghost Rider character looks more luke-warm than hellfire hot.
It’s undeniable that Marvel and the film makers have successfully brought the character to life exactly as they had intended to do, but it’s a shame to say that Spirit Of Vengeance falls into that dreaded category of ‘sequels that are not as good as the originals’.
It’s all right, but nothing to run home and tell your friends about.