I personally feel that the numerous superhero films that have been popping up since "X-Men" came out in 2000 are all of about the same quality. Yeah, everyone has their personal favorites (mine are 2009's "Watchmen" and 2003's "Daredevil: The Director's Cut") but, generally speaking, they're all decent cinematic versions of the comic heroes.

Mark Steven Johnson's "Ghost Rider" (2007) combines Faust and Spider-Man and mixes in elements of all the variations of the Ghost Rider comics up to the present, including the 50's Western hero, but it's main inspiration is the 70s-80s comic featuring Johnny Blaze as the protagonist.

What makes Ghost Rider appealing? Well, the only thing cooler than a guy in black leather and chains driving a Harley is a flaming skeleton in black leather and chains driving a supernatural flaming Harley. That pretty much explains it.

THE PLOT: Johnny Blaze and his father make a living as Evel Knieval-like stunt riders in a carnival. When Johnny's dad is diagnosed with cancer he is misled into making a deal with the devil. His father is healed of the cancer but Satan makes sure he dies in a stunt accident. Because of Johnny's foolish deal he is cursed to become the nigh-invincible Ghost Rider -- a supernatural flaming skeleton.

Some criticize Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze because Blaze is supposed to be about 30 years old, while Cage was around 41. Yeah, someone like James Franco would have been better for the role, especially since Franco looks exactly like Mike Ploog's version of Blaze, but Cage does a fine job. Besides, Cage is in great shape and I know guys 25 years old who look older than him.Read more ›

This movie was surprisingly good. I went into it, not expecting much after recently watching the Fantastic Four movie. Ghost Rider starts off with a young Johnny Blaze, teamed up with his father, who is sick. He makes a deal with the Devil and sells his soul to heal his father. Unfortunately, the Devil never strikes a bargain with fairness in mind and Johnny is left to wait for the Devil to call. When the Devil calls, the special effects were actually amazing. The story was a bit on the short side with an ending that left a bit to be desired. Overall, this IS a fun movie to watch and the action is consistent throughout. This one will be added to my library when it's released. Enjoy.

When director Mark Steven Johnson was lucky enough to be tapped to helm Fox's big screen adaptation of "Daredevil" he turned out to be an absolute perfect fit for the genre. Not only was he a fan of the comic, but he wanted to go against the Hollywood grain, and stay as true to the source material as possible. A move that was bold, but had proven successful several times over ("Spiderman", "Batman", and "Superman" are good examples), and the choice proved to work out well for "Daredevil" as well, resulting in big box office numbers and DVD sales. So, after achieving success with his first comic book adaptation, Mark moved on to a character even more obscure than Daredevil, and since he'd proven himself with great success previously, Sony gave him the OK to both write and direct what he hoped would be Marvel's next big franchise, "Ghost Rider" starring Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes.

"Ghost Rider" is the origin story of Marvel's self-proclaimed 'Spirit of Vengeance'. After having sold his soul to the demon Mephistopholes (Peter Fonda) to save his father, Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) must become the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter whose purpose is to send escaped demons back to Hell. As if being a demon hunter wasn't enough to deal with, Johnny is trying to rekindle a relationship with an old girlfriend (Eva Mendes), while trying to gain control over the entity within him. Now, a demon named Blackheart (Wes Bentley) along with his minions, have come to Earth in search of a group of evil souls that was hidden by a previous Ghost Rider many years ago, Mephistopholes summons the Ghost Rider to stop Blackheart before he gains control of the souls and destroys the Earth.

"Ghost Rider" was one of those movies where I wasn't sure how it was going to fare at the box office.Read more ›

Sometimes a flaming skull can be the mask of an avenging angel.

First of all I admit that I am a long time fan of the Ghost Rider comic series. I waited for this movie to get made for years- through all the delays. Now that it has been made I am not disappointed. I thought that this was a very good job of writing, acting, casting, and special effects.

The first thing you have to realize is that this is a morality play. The Rider is the Spirit of Vengeance. He instantly knows the guilty from the innocent. His greatest weapon is his ability to make criminals feel their victims pain through his "penance stare." He is supposed to be disturbing, upsetting, frightening. If you have a problem with paying for your crimes then you are going to have a problem with the Rider...

I especially liked the tribute to the original western Ghost Rider (excellently played by Sam Elliot) and his tie in to the mythos of the Johnny Blaze incarnation. It was so appropriate to use the old "Ghost Riders in the Sky" theme here for it was the original inspiration for the character.

I wouldn't hesitate to allow children to watch this, but I would watch with them and explain it. Blaze made a deal with the devil, but he did it for unselfish, sacrificial reasons. And while the devil got his soul, he didn't get his spirit. The Ghost Rider is darkness in the service of light. He willed himself from the devil's bounty hunter to his greatest nemesis on earth. He owned his curse and turned the devil's power against him. And the Rider never, ever harms the innocent.

Yeah, I liked the craftsmanship and I liked the message- a lot.