Ghost Rider was a mild success back in 2007 but overwhelming critic hatred and outcry from comic book fans cemented the death of the bad CGI flaming skull and Nicholas Cages wooden performance. But someone somewhere made a deal with the devil or some fat cat executive, thus bringing the charred carcass back from the depths of hell and here we are with Spirit of Vengeance a sort-of, not-really sequel to the first flaming turd of a movie. Nicholas Cage is back as Johnny Blaze the stunt motorcyclist who sold his soul to the devil and was cursed as a "rider" a kind of bounty hunter for the devil. Thankfully Cage is in full-on "AAACCTTIIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGGGG" mode here, chewing scenery like no one else can and he really is the one saving grace of this film.
Spirit of Vengeance is surprisingly boring for as ludicrous as the premise and the films kinetic style may be. All of the performances are incredibly flat as the actors seem to be half asleep as they read out their lines, none more apparent than the mother and son duo that Blaze is tasked with protecting. Which brings me to the plot, the entire plot is dropped on Blazes lap by a wine-obsessed French monk played unfortunately restrained by Idris Elba, and it goes a little something like this "you must protect this boy *shows picture*, in return I shall lift your curse" ... "ok". Then off we go, it just goes to show the filmmakers have no interest in the story and are more interested in showing off how badass Ghost Rider looks.
Mark Neveldine and Brain Taylor are the directing duo, and if you've seen their previous efforts (Crank 1 & 2) you pretty much know what you're getting into. The directing style is frantic and maddeningly confusing, handheld shots are their preferred but it means the majority of the film is always shaky and unstable. Mix that with whipcams and A.D.D. afflicted editing and you have a possibly migraine inducing 90 minutes. Where the film really shines however is when Ghost Rider or his wild-eyed coke fueled alter-ego Nicholas Cage are onscreen. Ghost Rider himself looks incredible, the flames look real and react to the action believable as it extinguishes and sways accordingly. Nicholas Cage however never reacts or behaves appropriately and the movie is all the better for it as he screams and winces his way through his scenes. His balls out crazy interrogation of some club owner is especially frightening/ hilarious and had me wishing he was more whacked out than he already was, which would have made for at least a more interesting movie as opposed to a boring one.
Which is where I end this review, this movies biggest sin is that its boring. The action is too muddied and messy to have any impact though it does always look impressive, and the frantic nature of the film is completely neutered by a dumb plot, hokey dialogue and stiff performances. Nicholas Cage's "fantastic" performance and a few crazy action scenes, particularly a car chase which has Ghost Rider jumping from his motorcycle onto trucks and burning everything in his path are the few saving graces of this movie. Unfortunately Spirit of Vengeance is a lackluster "sequel?" to its generic predecessor. Go for the crazy but set expectations accordingly.
(2 out of 5)
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