- Director: Mark Steven Johnson
- Writers: Mark Steven Johnson, Mark Steven Johnson
- Stars: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 50 Minutes
- Link: https://amzn.to/3uyaPvE
Synopsis
There is a legend about a “Ghost Rider.” Every generation has one, a damned soul cursed to ride the Earth and collect on the Devil’s deals. At one point, one of the Ghost Riders had a contract too big to hand over, so he ran from the devil. Credits roll.
We open in a carnival that features a motorcycle stunt show. Johnny Blaze and his father are the stars. His father gives Johnny a bunch of unwanted advice, but Johnny is in love with Roxanne. The pair plan to run off together tomorrow. That night, Johnny learns that his dad has cancer from all those cigarettes.
Also that very night, Mephistopheles comes to the circus to see Johnny. “Perhaps you’ll ride for me one day,” he says creepily. “What if I could help your dad? What if I could give him back his health? Would you be willing to make a deal?” You know how it goes from there. “By tomorrow, your dad will have perfect health, and you’ll have your whole life ahead of you. All you have to do is sign this.”
Next morning, dad gets the report that his X-rays are perfect and he feels “healthy as a horse.” But the devil plays dirty. Johnny’s dad crashes and burns that very morning— but he was healthy when it happened! Johnny gives up on Roxanne and leaves her standing in the rain.
Years pass, and now Johnny looks like Nicolas Cage. He’s still doing stunt riding, only for a much bigger crowd. Meanwhile, there’s something scary roaming out in the desert killing patrons of a biker bar. He’s Blackheart. He wants that missing contract from the pre-credit sequence. He conjured up some demonic assistants. The devil doesn’t like Blackheart, and he can’t do anything to him, but his Rider can. “Go ahead. Send the rider. I’ll bury him, Father,” says Blackheart.
Mack warns Johnny that the next jump is just too big. “What have you got to prove?” He asks. Roxanne is at this show, and he hasn’t seen her in years, but all she wants is an interview. Johnny’s plan is to jump over six spinning helicopters. It’s al very tense, but he makes it just fine. Roxy agrees to meet Johnny for dinner later.
Johnny notices that his hands are getting hot; Steaming hot. He goes outside to find the devil has come to claim his due. He wants Johnny to hunt Blackheart, and if he succeeds, he can have his soul back. Johnny then rides so fast the city burns behind him. His hands and feet burst into flame, and before long, he’s just a flaming skeleton in leathers.
Blackheart is looking for a cemetery that has been moved, but first he has to fight Ghost Rider. GR uses his flaming chain to kill one of Blackheart’s associates. The sun comes up, and he reverts back to his human self. He wakes up at the cemetery, and the old caretaker insists that “last night did happen, and will happen again.” The Caretaker calls him “Ghost Rider.” The old man explains things to Johnny; there hasn’t been a Rider since the pre-credit sequence, 150 years ago.
Johnny and Roxanne make up, but then he tells her everything; she thinks he’s lost his mind. As she drives away, Johnny is arrested for being at the crime scene and murdering all those people. Night falls, and Johnny blazes out again.
Meanwhile, Blackheart has gone to the church that moved the cemetery, and he wants the missing contract. The police corner Ghost Rider and load him full of bullets, but it doesn’t even slow him down.
The Caretaker tells the story of Carter Slade, who also became a Ghost Rider. Blackheart is coming to this cemetery to dig up Slade’s grave, where the contract is supposed to be. Except he explains that Blackheart is going to go after Roxanne.
Blackheart goes after the Caretaker first, then he goes for Roxanne. He tells Johnny he’ll trade the contract for Roxanne. The Caretaker gives Johnny the contract; he’s had it all along. The Caretake whistles for his horse; he’s Carter Slade, the old Ghost Rider.
Ghost Rider and Blackheart fight until the sun rises. Black heart gets the contract and summons all the evil of the old town, which he absorbs and it supercharges him. Johnny realizes that now Blackheart is full of souls, and he can work with that. He uses his soul-tormenting power to kill Blackheart and the Legion within him.
The devil reappears and offers to take back the Ghost Rider power. “No. I’m gonna own this curse, and I’m gonna use it against you,” he explains.
Commentary
Nicolas Cage is a weird guy, we all know that, but he plays Johnny as weird too. Almost unnaturally weird. Jellybeans, the Carpenters, monkey comedies, and coffee from the pot. Really? Cage just overpowers the role, which is pretty hard to do in a comic book movie.
Kevin says that Peter Fonda does one of the best portrayals of the devil he’s seen, and I have to agree. He’s evil, but kinda fun, but still mega-creepy.
The 2007 CGI effects don’t really hold up. They aren’t the worst I’ve seen, but they are far from effective. Since the whole point of the Ghost Rider character is how cool he looks, this is a bit of a problem. There’s also the problem of learning to use his superpowers; Spider-man had to learn. The X-Men are always learning. Ghost Rider just sort of already knew how to do everything, which took the “learning” part out of the fun. Still, it’s a fun film and probably worth the watch.