Fonda is smart casting as Mephistopheles, while sultry Mendes is topnotch eye-candy.
Ghost Rider (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:125
Fresh:33
Rotten:92
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: Ghost Rider is a sour mix of morose, glum histrionics amidst jokey puns and hammy dialogue.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for horror violence and disturbing images
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:02-03-2007
Synopsis: The prophetically named Johnny Blaze and his father perform death-defying stunts in a carnival, but the real danger to his dad's life is the cancer growing within his dying body. To save him,... The prophetically named Johnny Blaze and his father perform death-defying stunts in a carnival, but the real danger to his dad's life is the cancer growing within his dying body. To save him, Johnny makes a deal with Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda, EASY RIDER) and sacrifices his soul. When his father is killed mid-stunt, Johnny runs away, leaving behind his grief and a young love named Roxanne. Years later, Johnny (Nicolas Cage, WORLD TRADE CENTER ) is the most famous rider in the country. Despite his daredevil tendencies, Johnny is a different man when he's not riding his bike. Though he wears leather jackets and pants, he prefers jelly beans to Jim Beam while listening to the Carpenters. Years have passed since Johnny has seen the love of his life, but he still carries a torch for Roxanne (Eva Mendes, HITCH). When he sees her after a stunt, he tries to regain her love and trust. But it's time for the devil to take his due as he brings Johnny into an epic battle with Blackheart (Wes Bentley, AMERICAN BEAUTY). In the presence of evil, Johnny transforms into a super-strong skeleton with a flaming skull who has the power to defeat Blackheart and his minions. As Johnny, Cage plays a cross between his Elvis devotee in WILD AT HEART and the sensitive he-man in CON AIR. The evil Mephistopheles is Fonda's most memorable role since his Oscar-nominated turn in ULEE'S GOLD, and this film provides an opportunity for him to return to the spotlight. GHOST RIDER doesn't rank with the best of the comic book adaptations such as SPIDER-MAN and BATMAN BEGINS, but director Mark Steven Johnson (DAREDEVIL) provides a film driven by both humor and action. [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, Peter Fonda, Donal Logue, Matt Long, Raquel Alessi, Brett Cullen, Gibson Nolte
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Screenwriter: Mark Steven Johnson
Producer: Avi Arad, Gary Foster, Michael De Luca, Steven Paul, E. Bennett Walsh
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Ghost Rider
As comic book movies go, this delivers pretty much everything you could expect from a film about a guy with a flaming skull for a head.
It's ridiculous, likable, with some pleasing reminders of the Blade movies.
An oddly beguiling mixture of horror movie, biker flick, pulp Faust legend, redemption melodrama and western, featuring quite astonishing special effects.
A blockbuster that offers enough quirky pleasures to feel fresh and unpredictable.
Nic Cage seems comfortable in the role of the flaming-skulled biker, but the plot holes are too deep even for his Herbie-like arachnid motorcycle to negotiate.
By the time our hero has finally relaxed into his leathers, there's little time left to wrap up the main story, which is some forgettable stuff about the devil's progeny (a googly-eyed Wes Bentley) trying to take over the world.
Cage has to collect Satan's unpaid debts, meaning that he becomes a demon biker with a flaming skull for a head - and that's about it for this one-note film.
t’s fun in places, but the second you’re out the cinema, Ghost Rider vanishes from memory in a big puff of smoke.
Critics attempt to critique films like Ghost Rider with a straight face, but it never works out. That's why I'm going to just come out and say it: Ghost Rider is a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
You know if you're into this stuff, and if you are, Ghost Rider is fine.
Ghost Rider isn't good but if you catch the spirit of it, it's not terrible.
This is one of those "turn-off-your-brain-and-enjoy-the-ride type things, and such it works rather well.
The story is rather lame. It's the star power that makes this worth the price of admission.
The story doesn't arc so much as unspool like a stretch of desert highway, but the Ghost Rider is such a powerful amalgam of hot-rod iconography that this is still fairly watchable.
No skimpily dressed Satan-worshipping babes like in the original comics, alas. . .
Although Ghost Rider wouldn't necessarily qualify as a 'good' movie, it does have a few wonderfully goofy moments squeezed in between a lot of unspectacular visual effects and ho-hum plot points.
Latest News for Ghost Rider
November 05, 2009:
David Goyer Promises "Existential" Ghost Rider Sequel ![]()
Saying it will be the "Casino Royale" of the franchise, David Goyer spoke with MTV about the "Ghost Rider" sequel, which he says will find Nicolas Cage in a "much darker,... More...
October 02, 2009:
David Goyer Talks Ghost Rider 2 and Magneto ![]()
"Ghost Rider 2" is coming together with a script he wrote almost a decade ago. Will it take that long for David Goyer to get "Magneto" into theaters? More...
July 15, 2009:
Nicolas Cage Talks Ghost Rider 2 ![]()
Curious about Nicolas Cage's plans for "Ghost Rider 2"? You won't want to miss the actor's new interview with MTV. More...
January 29, 2009:
Ghost Rider Rides Again ![]()
You knew Nicolas Cage wanted it to happen, and it looks like he'll get his wish: Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Columbia Pictures has started development on "Ghost Rider 2." More...
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