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GHOST RIDER (2007)

post #1 of 19
7/18/10 at 7:48pm
Thread Starter 
I got excited about the complete insanity that Cage, Neveldine and Taylor might bring to the sequel, so I decided to watch the first one again.

It's a definitely a bad movie, but it's not the worst movie Marvel has done (I'd give that title to either Wolverine, Elektra or Daredevil).
I think the movie works when Cage's weirdness is on display. His outbursts, his dramatic pointing , his eyebrow raises and his Elvis hand gestures are entertaining. They should have went further with his love of monkies, jellybeans and the Carpenters. You can laugh at Wes Bentley's awfulness, but I would have preferred to see Pedophile Satan Peter Fonda as the main baddie. "Jooooooohnny! JOOOOOOHNNY!"

The Ghost Rider really shines when he gets to cackle or scream "WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" (the part where he transforms the bike and the fight with that water elemental retard). The Rider-related action scenes were all pretty weak, though.
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post #2 of 19
7/18/10 at 8:52pm
Cage is definitely the best part of this, but I even enjoy some of the non-Cage stuff like Peter Fonda and Sam Elliott. Of course, most of this movie is just ripe for mockery, and that's another reason I enjoy the hell out of it. The action scenes are pretty weak, the effects are goofy, the dialogue is hilariously overwrought, and Wes Bentley is so perversely miscast and misdirected as the villain that it's compelling to see just how much worse his acting can get.

So yeah, I enjoy it, though not always for the right reasons.
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post #3 of 19
7/18/10 at 8:56pm
Eva Mendes actually shows some comedic chops in the magic eight ball restaurant scene. I laughed out loud (or, lol'd)!

I loved the shot where Mephisto first appears, and a lightning bolt shows us that his shadow is actually Mr. Burns.
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post #4 of 19
7/18/10 at 9:04pm
Thread Starter 
lol yeah Fonda's horrifying TRUE FORM is an animated shadow of a crotchety old man with a cane. He should have turned into that at the end instead of just throwing a fit and leaving. The 8-ball thing was funny, but Eva does some truly horrible porn acting during her Reporter scenes.

"What's going through your mind. Right now?"
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post #5 of 19
7/18/10 at 9:04pm
Eva Mendes, was sublime as...Roxanne. She allegedly became a more...Well Rounded and Curvy for the role of...Roxanne. Cage, was...HELLaciously Awesome as...Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze! I enjoyed the first film. The problem with the villains is that they looked too...Human. Peter Fonda, should have had the devilish visage from the comics, and ditto for Wes Bentley. Mark Steven Johnson should not direct another film based on a Marvel property again!

DD was ok, with the problem of too many storylines...Meeting Elektra, she dies, she is resurrected, meeting Kingpin, they fight he is arrested, and fighting Bullseye, and defeating him all in the same film. Ben Affleck is also only...Ok, as DD. Jennifer, does...GARNER, alot of Attention as Elektra, but her spin-off was...Horrible. X-Men Origins Wolverine, is...X-Cellent though. I cannot understand why so many people hate the film.
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post #6 of 19
7/18/10 at 10:33pm
I think I almost like this movie. I have no idea why because it's not very good. Mark Steven Johnson is a terrible director, but as it's been said, anytime Nic Cage points at the screen Elvis-style is gold. I also like the scene where Ghost Rider and The Caretaker ride across the desert (I think there's a RAISING ARIZONA shout-out that made me chuckle), music blaring in the background, only to have Sam Elliot say "Alright, I'm out. good luck!"

I'll see a sequel, no matter what, but I'd actually be excited to see it if Neveldine and Taylor are involved.
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post #7 of 19
7/18/10 at 10:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Long View Post
I'll see a sequel, no matter what, but I'd actually be excited to see it if Neveldine and Taylor are involved.
According to Cage, the papers have been signed and they're doing part 2.
Neveldine and Taylor even linked to the interview on their twitter.

http://twitter.com/neveldinetaylor/status/18706648763
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post #8 of 19
7/18/10 at 10:57pm
Thanks for that. I'm so following these guys.
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post #9 of 19
7/19/10 at 9:42am
GHOST RIDER is five kinds of awful, but also weirdly watchable thanks to Cage's performance. He's in an entirely different kind of movie than the rest of the cast, and there's a train-wreck element to him throughout.

And I can't even imagine calling this "better" than Daredevil. "More perversely entertaining," I could agree to. But Daredevil, for its faults, is a better constructed film. (And I say that as someone who once liked DD, but has come to conclude it's pretty awful.)
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post #10 of 19
7/19/10 at 12:16pm
Thread Starter 
I guess Daredevil is slightly more coherent when it comes to story, but it's mostly boring and full of stiff performances. I'd rather watch Cage reminiscing about how his father thought jumping over a bunch of blackhawk helicopters would be cool.
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post #11 of 19
7/19/10 at 12:36pm
Yeah, if I wasn't a fan of Daredevil, I think the film's faults would be more glaring for me (DD killing a guy excepted). Whereas I end up doing some sort of mental gymnastics to convince myself the film doesn't suck.

Ghost Rider, on the other hand, was painful to sit through. I'm sure I would get more out of a second viewing in full-on MST3K/Rifftrax mode.

But a Cage/Neveldine/Taylor mash-up promises deranged greatness on the level of Alone in the Dark.
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post #12 of 19
7/19/10 at 2:25pm
Definitley one of the more entertaining bad movies in recent memory. Love that deep orange shot of the lovers meeting by the tree, love the Sam Elliot/Nicholas Cage race, love all the weird-ass personal touches they gave Blaze. Also, product placement for ITS OWN VIDEO GAME.

I can't really imagine going into this expecting anything but entertaining insanity - was Ghost Rider ever a good character?
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post #13 of 19
7/19/10 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielRoffle View Post
I can't really imagine going into this expecting anything but entertaining insanity - was Ghost Rider ever a good character?
Yes, but not without a lot of trying. Heaven's on Fire was pretty good.

The high concept of Ghost Rider should work. Devil's bounty hunter that looks like a skeletal biker with a flaming skull. He hunts demons. How does this not work?
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post #14 of 19
7/19/10 at 3:58pm
DanielRoffle, Ghost Rider is a...Great Character. To me, The original run of the...Johnny Blaze GR, was the best incarnation. Fighting Mephisto, rescuing Roxanne and several other damsels in distress from...EEEEEEEEEvil Bikers, Cultists, supervillains, the resurrected Mr. Simpson, JB's stepfather, who is also Roxy's dad as well. I have been re-reading the entire original run through...Essential Ghost Rider 1-3. The final 20 issues arrive in late october in Essential Ghost Rider 4!
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post #15 of 19
7/19/10 at 4:09pm
Man, I must be really infatuated with Mendes if she was actually that bad.
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post #16 of 19
7/19/10 at 5:59pm
Thread Starter 
Mendes was awful as a reporter and "just there" as Johnny's love interest. I'll never forget how she once said part of her preparation for Ghost Rider was gaining weight to make her boobs look bigger. Most actors claim to care about THE FANS, but she really did.

SO LONG, ROXY.

Quote:
"No, unfortunately," was the actress' only comment when asked about whether or not she'd be back for the recently-announced sequel, set to again star Cage with the new director team of Neveldine/Taylor.
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post #17 of 19
7/25/10 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wadew1 View Post
Mendes was awful as a reporter and "just there" as Johnny's love interest. I'll never forget how she once said part of her preparation for Ghost Rider was gaining weight to make her boobs look bigger. Most actors claim to care about THE FANS, but she really did.

SO LONG, ROXY.

I wish more actresses were as dedicated to their craft as Eva Mendes. It brings a tear to my eye.

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post #18 of 19
7/25/10 at 4:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wadew1 View Post
Mendes was awful as a reporter and "just there" as Johnny's love interest. I'll never forget how she once said part of her preparation for Ghost Rider was gaining weight to make her boobs look bigger. Most actors claim to care about THE FANS, but she really did.

SO LONG, ROXY.
This is not helping, waaaaaaaaade!
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post #19 of 19
7/25/10 at 4:36pm

Well...um..

Ghost Rider is definitely not good. But it has train wreck value. Cage pretty much rules with his complete overacting. But then hasn't he been that way since Face/Off anyway?

And the young chick hired to play young Eva Mendes does look strikingly like her older self of the character. And they're both insanely hot. Yum.

But yeah, no, this aint a good flick at all. It's rather like Mortal Kombat Annihilation if you ask me. Granted, MK:A does not have anyone who is nearly as good at being bad as Cage is, but they're both ridiculo/fantasy/FX smothered pieces of shit that you can't stop watching anyway. Like a double chili cheeseburger.
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