Ghost Rider (2007)

Written by Filipe Manuel Neto on September 28, 2022

It entertains very well, but that's all it is, and may be forgotten in a few years.

If it weren't for this movie, I wouldn't know the Ghost Rider character, who is perhaps one of the darkest and most little-known characters in the Marvel universe. I'm not a comic expert, I just know some characters (the most famous ones) and I've seen some movies. So I'm going to ignore the source material and focus on what this film brings us, assuming I'm not the best person to say if this is a good adaptation or not.

The script has some notes of interest, especially for those who appreciate a more adult and denser universe: Johnny Blaze was a young acrobat who performed impressive circus acts with motorcycles, along with his father. However, upon learning that his father is about to die of cancer, Blaze decides to accept a pact with the Devil in hopes of saving him, which he is unable to do. Forever bound by the pact made, he becomes a monster that seeks out and punishes violent and cruel men... until the day he has to recover a contract of hundreds of souls that would doom an entire village, which would give whoever had it enormous evil power.

If we consider the film as a piece of entertainment, I think we'll leave reasonably satisfied. The film is not an example of art, and I don't think anyone involved will miss it very much, except perhaps Nicolas Cage, for whom the film was a good financial bet, despite not being particularly successful with the critics, and have been heavily criticized by the public. Directed and written by Mark Steven Johnson, it's a film with less action than many would expect, although I didn't have any problem with that. I found it more difficult to deal with the uneven pacing of the film, which wastes time in certain scenes in a way that is difficult to justify.

Despite being undoubtedly popular and charismatic, Nicolas Cage is not at his best here and gives us an interpretation that is, to say the least, unsatisfactory. However, Cage has revealed over time that he is not a steady, balanced actor either. He's very good, he's capable of doing great work, but he can also be disappointing. Peter Fonda is quite good here, but his participation is relatively paltry, appearing only in a few scenes. I have doubts about Eva Mendes' talent for acting, I still haven't seen her play a character that doesn't depend on her sex appeal, and what I saw here didn't convince me. However, what she did is enough for the character, who is just a hot girlfriend. Sam Elliot does well and gives his character an old-time "rough tough" scent, which I liked.

The film consistently and intelligently bets on strong and impactful special effects and quality CGI. Obviously, not everything works well and those fire effects, on the character's face and motorcycle, are so obviously fake that they don't convince anyone, even though the result is aesthetically beautiful and matches the character and the environment. After all, burning skulls are still a classic of tattoos and prints for biker jackets. The film makes good use of the chosen filming locations, it has good sets, good costumes, a dark environment that is not overly dense and does not frighten. Anyone who considers this film a horror should avoid films like “The Exorcist” and others, so as not to end up dying of a heart attack, because this film, as it stands, does not scare a fifteen-year-old teenager.