Rated PG-13 for horror violence and disturbing images.
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson (Elektra & Dare Devil)
Starring Nicholas Cage, Eva Mendes and Peter Fonda
Another super (hero) disappointment.
Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) is the world's best-known motorcycle stuntman but when the sun goes down and he is in the presence of evil, he becomes the Ghost Rider. As a teenager, Johnny and his father are both stuntmen for a carnival. When he learns his father has been diagnosed with cancer, Johnny sells his soul to the Devil (Peter Fonda) in order to save his father’s life. Unfortunately you can’t trust the Devil, and although healed of cancer, his father is killed in a stunt the next day. Johnny leaves the carnival, his town, his friends and his girlfriend Roxanne (Eva Medes). Years later, Johnny meets Roxanne again, now a TV reporter. He is also reunited with Mephistopheles who proposes to release Johnny from his contract if he becomes the “Ghost Rider” and defeat his evil son Blackheart, who plans to displace his father and create a new, more terrifying Hell.
So here’s my take, the Ghost Rider character is one of the coolest and yes one of the darkest comic book “heroes.” Nicholas Cage is neither cool nor dark and it was actually painful watching him trying to be.
The story and special effects are pretty average with one exception, the flaming bike is freaking awesome. There are some total “cheese” scenes like when he rides up the building and the next day “my skull feels like it is on fire” line. Not to mention the total cliché lightning flash that lights up a skull in his reflection after his friend says “you must have an angel watching over you” and he responds, “Or something else.”
My only hope is that in a few years someone else comes along and makes Ghost Rider Begins.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
It’s a true PG-13 rating and I’m glad I decided not to let my kids see it. The satanic images and characters are way too scary for younger viewers. Then again the flaming skull motorcyclist on the cover box should have been a dead giveaway.
Side Note:
We don’t recommend your kids see this film. But on the occasion that they actually have already seen it, you may want to dialogue about the film with them. These questions below may be a help to you.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
