GHOST RIDER

SONY

RELEASED 2 March 2007

‘I’m the Ghost Rider, heh, heh, heh!’ Another year, another Marvel Comics character rears it’s flaming head. It won’t be long before Marvel really scrap the barrel and produce an ‘Ant Man’ film... what’s that, they’re already working on it? Oh jeez...

Years ago, motorcycle stunt rider ‘carnie’ Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage) made a deal with the devil to save his dad. Years later, the Devil comes to collect, turning Johnny into the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter of rogue demons. Cue a hot time in the old town tonight.

This isn’t a bad film. It seems to work better when there are no effects onscreen, as the cheesy but tongue-in-cheek basic story works well and has a likeable script. The bad guy element is poor though, as are the elemental villans, which look badly designed and have ill-defined powers. Watching the Ghost Rider flame around town on his motorbike never gets tired, and a sequence riding up and down a skyscraper is great. Nic Cage really has fun with it and hams it up, with some ‘Elvis’ relish on top. Eva Medes’ breasts are a knockout, and old timers Peter Fonda and Sam Elliot bring some class to the comic-book tale.

‘Ghost Rider’ is certainly no ‘Spidey’ or ‘X-Men’, nor is it as bad as the ‘Elektra’ and ‘Punisher’ flicks, occupying a middle position alongside the ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Hulk’ respectable efforts.

THREE OUT OF FIVE