It's been eight years since its release, but it’s still entertaining to make fun of one of Marvel Comics' worst fim adaptations: Mark Steven Johnson's Ghost Rider. Check out the new Cinema Sins video that tears apart one of the mediocre comic book movie entries.
In nearly 20 minutes, Ghost Rider racked up 186 "sins," which is a lot more than their last superhero movie rant earned. With most movies, CinemaSins has a tendency to nitpick the hell out scenes and character traits, and admittedly there is a lot of that in this video. However, if any superhero film deserves to be ridiculed, it’s Ghost Rider. Starring Nicolas Cage, who won’t be ranking on the Best Superhero Actor list anytime soon, the film was critically panned upon its release in 2007 largely due to its bad script and for feeling "lifeless." Starting off with the ridiculous series of events that led to Johnny Blaze, also known as the "discount Johnny Storm" signing his deal with the devil (which basically happened by accident), the video proceed to rip into nearly every aspect of this film, and I doubt the majority of us will take issue with the noted problems.
There’s a lot to absorb, whether it’s minor quibbles about why no one at the police station noticed Johnny frying the prisoners, to the movie trying to make Melbourne, Australia pass for Texas. Don’t worry, there are legitimate plot complaints mixed in, like the inconsistencies with how Johnny’s powers work, and how Carter Slade (Sam Elliot’s character) doesn’t really play much of a role in the story. They even had the perfect opportunity to team up two generations of Ghost Riders, and all Slade does is ride with Johnny to the final battleground. What a waste. One particular humorous comment from the narrator is why the Devil is beholden to having his soul collectors travel at Earthly speed. Instead of using a horse or motorcycle, why not use a helicopter? Obviously that wouldn’t look quite as cool, but it’s still food for thought.
Five years after Ghost Rider was released, its sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance earned even worse reviews and a much lower box office return. There’s one thing we can all take solace in: Sony won’t be making any more Ghost Rider movies, since the film rights have reverted back to Marvel Studios. Given the character’s dark nature and their current slate of projects, it may be a while before he is included in a Marvel Cinematic Universe project, but at least it can’t be any worse than this film.
