By Stephen Pytak 

     This is an interesting intepretation of the comic book series 
by Marvel. The best part about it is Nicholas Cage, whose 
Johnny Blaze is a more interesting, memorable and eccentric 
character than the one in the books.
     But despite a lot of really good parts -- an attractive co-
star, Eva Mendes, wild special effects, etc. -- the engine rides
rough.
     I know Mark Steven Johnson is a capable director. And I
know he had a hard time with editors when bringing Daredevil to 
the screen. The theatrical version of that film was so-so. An
R-rated director's cut later released on DVD did more justice to
the characters.  And I wonder if that's going to be the case here. 
     I don't know where to start. It's Sunday. I slept in. I'm still 
waking up. All right. Let's do this stream of consciousness.
     Johnny Blaze was awesome.
     Ghost Rider was just kinda there.
     Here Blaze is an eccentric, very different from the blonde, 
nice guy, straight shooter he was in the comics in the '70s 
and '80s. He eats jelly beans, reads books about the occult, 
watches Animal Planet and listens to The Carpenters. He also 
has this Goth black hair style. He kind of looks like Vince 
Furnier's brother. It's a real departure from the Johnny Blaze 
fans got to know the past 30 years. And it could have really sucked.
     But Cage made it work. He brought a wild energy to it. 
Sometimes funny, sometimes offbeat, sometimes  serious, and when 
he starts to change into his firey alter-ego, he's completely crackers. 
     I'm really glad he got this part, because, like I said, he's 
worth the ticket price.
     While I'm on the topic of Johnny Blaze, I thought the stunt 
show sequences were really good. The thing with the 
helicopters was excellent.
     On the other hand, Blaze's alter-ego wasn't so hot. While 
the special effects were excellent, the Mark Steven Johnson's 
Ghost Rider wasn't. The problem was the film didn't establish 
the character enough. The flaming skull was just there. 
     The film tells us he's "the devil's bounty hunter." Fine. 
Sounds cool. But who is he? Is he Johnny Blaze? Is he
someone else, another entity from the beyond?
     In the comics he was Zarathros, a demon with vengenace
on the brain. Would have been nice if they worked that into 
the story. But that didn't seem to be the case. 
     Mark Steven Johnson's Ghost Rider does a lot of similar 
things. He sears souls with Hellfire. Sure. I can see the devil's 
bounty hunter doing that. But I can't see this mean mother
rescuing some Goth chick from a purse snatcher. What the hell 
would the devil's bounty hunter care?
     I can understand the writer/director wanting to make the
Ghost Rider into a hero of some sort. Fine. But...what the hell?
    By the time the credits rolled, I still didn't know who Mark
Steven Johnson's Ghost Rider was.  If we had a better idea,
the film could have been more awe inspiring. 
     The structure of the theatrical version of this film kind of 
bugged me. It reminded me of  "Elektra," which bombed 
a few years back. There were a lot of similarities: an opening
explaining the legend, a bunch of disposable CG bad guys. 
Yawn.
     Our two main baddies were O.K. Peter Fonda was a really
good Mephistopheles. And I don't think Wes Bentley was the
worst Blackheart. But I really hated the CG demon effects that
washed over their faces time and time again. It looked awful. 
You don't have to use that stuff to convince me these guys are bad
news. Just having them turn rooms full of people to dried prunes 
kind off gets that across. 
     And last but not least, I thought Eva Mendes was good. She 
was the second best reason to see the film. If you don't like Cage, 
well, then she's the first. She does the best job with what she's got 
to work with. But the most memorable thing about her were her 
fine features. When the CG pyrotechnics or twisted plot nonsense 
grinded on my nerves, I just focused all my attention on her.
     I'm hoping a director's cut of some sort comes out on DVD. I'm 
curious if Johnson's vision was tampered with. I was kind of hoping 
Ghost Rider would have been an R-rated movie, something with a 
bit more bite. But, in reality Mephistopheles isn't running the show. 
The money men are.