Susan Granger’s review of “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” (Columbia Pictures/Sony)
Why did Nicolas Cage commit himself to a ludicrous franchise like this? Ostensibly, it’s because he’s always been enamored with Marvel superhero comic-book characters but it’s obviously because of the money. It seems people are actually willing to pay to see this action-propelled trash.
Marginally better than in the original 2007 “Season of the Witch,” Cage reprises his character of Johnny Blaze, a daredevil stunt motorcyclist who – desperate to save his dying dad – made a deal with the devil, embodied by Rourke (Ciaran Hinds). Subsequently, he’s been subject to transformation into an eerie biker skeleton with a blazing skull.
As this supernatural segment begins, Johnny Blaze is hiding somewhere in Eastern Europe, where a French friend, Moreau (Idris Elba), an alcoholic, motorcycle-riding monk tracks him down. Moreau needs Blaze’s help in finding a Gypsy grifter, Nadya (Violante Placido), and protecting her young son, Danny (Fergus Riordan), who may be the devil’s Earthling spawn. As enticement, Blaze is promised redemption, reversing his Faustian bargain, if they’re successful. Talk about retribution!
Inanely scripted by Scott M. Gimple, Seth Hoffman and David S. Goyer, it’s directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (credited as Neveldine/Taylor), best known for helming “Crank” and “Crank 2: High Voltage,” and photographed by Brandon Trost. Yet with three credited writers, we’ll never know which one contributed Blaze’s laugh-inducing inquiry: “You’re the devil’s baby-mama?”
His participation in bloodthirsty, often incoherent drivel like this make it difficult to recall that Nicolas Cage was utterly delightful in “Moonstruck” (1987) and won an Oscar as an alcoholic in “Leaving Las Vegas” (1995). But that was before Beelzebub forced him to splurge on 13 lavish estates all over the world, including a castle in Bavaria, Germany and a private island in the Bahamas, resulting in multiple foreclosures to meet a $6.3 million unpaid tax bill- which may explain this, along with “Drive Angry.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” spins out with a repellant 3, memorable mainly for its cheesy CGI fakery.
