Here we have the film that sold itself thanks to flame-throwing urine. Does the infamous final note of its trailer appear in the film itself? Why yes it most certainly does, twice in fact. It never felt old, especially since the scene ends with the Rider looking toward the audience with an agape mouth, marveling at the spectacle before him.
GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE is one hell of a looney-tunes movie. It is a purely gonzo, dumb comic book film and I enjoyed all of its excesses. I could but I am unable to label it as a guilty pleasure, at least for me since no guilt crossed through my mind during the proceedings. It might be for others though, since the sheer goofy insanity will be a harsh annoyance or a nice distraction from the lame story and script by David S. Goyer.
Goyer has had a rich past with comic book films, most notably the BLADE and DARK KNIGHT series, but he has often hurt many projects with his ultra-serious and vanilla approaches. SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE sadly isn't one of the exceptions; The film follows a possibly re-booted Johnny Blaze (a returning Nicolas Cage) in Eastern Europe, tasked with finding and transporting a boy away from the forces of evil in order to remove the force of evil inside of him. Both Blaze and Cage are forced to whine and have stiff conversations about being an "angel of justice" instead of a hellish spawn, all leading to a unintentionally laughable final scene. Goyer didn't just make a horrible first draft with his ideas, he made a shameful rip-off of both THE OMEN and TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY. Funny how this is the second Cage film I've reviewed, last year's DRIVE ANGRY, with stolen elements from the exploits of the T-800.
Now, I am just assuming the faults lie solely on the shoulders of Goyer, due to his double duty with the plot. Miraculously, especially after the disastrous first endeavor with the Ghost Rider character, he was partnered with co-writers Scott Gimple and Seth Hoffman to punch up the script and had the film helmed not by himself but by the gloriously stupendous and stupefying team of Neveldine/Taylor. The latter duo are at large why this worked within my fields of pleasure; crafting the picture with their signature shaky steadicams, music video freakout edits, pop up subtitles, and adrenalin fueled action sequences, they saved this dying beast from being another victim atop the pile of bad comic book films.
The acting helps as well, matching up with the madcap adventures and stunts. Instead of the drooling Elvis impersonator in the first film, Cage is back in his signature crazy saddle again and chewing up any scenario that comes his way. He dominates both when he's hooped up on goof balls, such as when he threatens to kill an underground fighting promoter, or being a uncouth father figure to the boy Macguffin. Johnny Whitworth is humorous as the devil's right-hand thug who is later granted a better position among his ranks. The makers also decided to class the film up with talented actors such as Ciaran Hinds and Idris Elba in supporting roles but giving them plenty of material to ham it up at key moments. Elba particularly stands out, making the most out of his French character Moreau during the shootouts. I also must note Violante Placido and her character Nadya, the boy's gypsy mother, since she is written not to be an unnecessary love interest but as a badass mama bear, so to speak.
SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE is going to be one of those "love it or hate it" deals for viewers. This is the second entry under the Marvel Knights label, sharing a nice space next to another goofy "love or hate" movie, PUNISHER: WAR ZONE. Personally, I would gladly like to watch anything that features two demons doing pro wrestling moves on top of moving trucks in the middle of a car chase or seeing Christopher Lambert in Hakushi makeup as a priest. Like its choice of locations, shot in Turkey and Romania probably for tax breaks, this is most certainly a tried and true exploitation film that simply just works beyond its misgivings.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
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