Review – Ghost Rider

This movie bets a lot on the “whoa, it’s a motorcycle-ridin’ dude with a flaming skull head” factor. And I’d be the first to admit that I spent enough of my pre-teen years filling notebooks with drawings of dudes with flaming skull heads to derive some entertainment from seeing my youthful visions echoed on the big screen. But you can get the flaming skull head dude just by watching the previews. The rest of the movie is a blend of action, horror and comedy so uneven that the elements end up canceling each other out. For example, I lost count of the number of times they’d get something potentially eerie going and then wreck the mood by tossing in a goofy, falling-flat joke. The cast also leaves something to be desired. Wes Bentley looks like a young investment banker dressed up as a goth demon on Halloween. Sam Eliot and Peter Fonda do workmanlike jobs in their supporting roles. But Nicolas Cage … seriously buddy, your Elvis impression is not a substitute for acting. Everybody but you learned that years ago in Wild at Heart. The visuals were the clear highlight, but even so they went no farther than the comic-to-movie conversion required. The combination of demons and motorcycles has some aesthetic potential, but the art direction here is more ESPN than Outlaw Biker. Overall this is a good opportunity largely squandered. See if desperate