Watched : Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider's looks and design is more known to the public than his origin and storyline. Henceforth the movie is given quite ample space to butcher and create a "movie" Ghost Rider.

The premises is simple. Man make pact with the Devil. Man was tricked but force to act for the Devil. Man fear the Devil will take away everything he loved. He ran and left love behind.

That's whats on the begining. A very smooth transition to foretell a tale of Regret and Lost and Burden. Young Johnny Blaze fled from Roxanne out of fear and remorse.

Over the years, Johnny Blaze performed daredevil jumps that no one dares to attempt and cheated Death as Mephistopheles (explaination later) kept him alive by his pact.

On the anniversary of his father's death, he made a personal tribute to his father. Here he was given the sign he was looking for : redemption. Meeting Roxanne after all these years again, sparked his hope that "perhaps, he finally overcome his fears".

However, Mephistopheles once again required a bounty hunter to do his dirty deeds. Blackheart, his son, had came for a contract which might help him to overthrow Mephistopheles. The contract, of a thousand souls, was cheated from Mephistopheles as the last incarnation of Ghost Rider rode off with it. Mephistopheles was afraid that Blackheart might be able to defeat him with this extra leverage thus finally awakened the Ghost Rider in Johnny Blaze.

Just when he thought he no longer had to fear.

Night time came and in the presence of evil, the Ghost Rider awakes.

The first night of the new Ghost Rider left trails of destruction and mayhem. The police placed Johnny Blaze for the murder of the nightman and others murdered by Blackheart. Johnny Blaze also didn't go for the "redeeming date" with Roxanne and on top of that, he woke up and felt like "as if my head was on fire".

Arrested and taken for detention prove too difficult for Blaze as the night comes. Breaking out of jail with a new jacket(in joke. References to probably Terminator.), Blaze continue to seek out Blackheart. In pure cheesy Kungfu movie/videogame style, Blaze fought another Hidden (there's 3 of them. He killed the Earth fellow on night 1) after a seemingly relentless pursue by the police. Roxanne saw firsthand of Johnny Blaze as the Ghost Rider. Blaze fled once again from Roxanne.

Roxanne return to Blaze's apartment, believing the "hocus pocus" that Blaze told her, earlier on, was true now that she witness it. Blackheart took off with her before Blaze when he returned from the Graveyard he took refuge in. Given no choice, Blaze went to seek the Contract from the caretaker. The caretaker turn out to be Carter Slade, the Ghost Rider who took the contract. He took the last ride accompanying Blaze to San Venganzas, the place to claim the souls, where Blackheart awaits.

The rest of it is purely predictable based on what I typed previously. In accounts, this movie isn't intending to go on the "mythos" aspect. Rather it's an action flick with a superhero + supernatural element. It is simple to understand cinema feature.

Design of Ghost Rider is simply a transition from print to screen. It's not exactly Johnny Blaze design more of an updated Dan Ketch. The Hellbike is more focused on with a remarkable transformation scene. Movie Ghost Rider had the penance stare, a move that used to be uniquely Dan's. Hellfire can change according to moods. This particularly showcase in the part where Ghost Rider stood before Roxanne.

Villian designs are fairly good except they were pretty predictable, especially in certain aspect. Meaning their weak points are fully open waiting for Ghost Rider to touch them. Mephistopheles is not considering a villian, more a plot device.

Mephistopheles is used rather than the Mephisto name. Perhaps it's enforce that it's really a Devil rather than a cosmic entity which went around getting "bargain" souls (he takes but he rarely pay up or in full). His alignment is strangely NOT EVIL at the moment. Perhaps a willingness to exploit him in detail for the next movie.

Eva Mendes's moments are brief and for a female friend to tell me, she's there only because to showcase her cleavage. In fact the acting are quite the norm, Mendes's part is like what she was in Hitch and there's nothing to TEST her acting genes.

Nicholas Cage is perhaps underacting due to a script that is....well..simple.

Do remember that the Rider rides again. The next movie should due '08 or '09. Typical of Avi Arad.