What Smells Like Burned Hair Plugs?

So I went to see Ghost Rider today. I figured a noon showing on Monday would leave me with a theater to myself. I was close, there were only about a dozen people counting me there. So, here's what I've got to say. There's certainly spoilers for it, so if you know you're going to see it, regardless of this review, then turn away now. If you're undecided, hopefully this helps you out, one way or the other. To start, a couple of caveats for folks contemplating seeing the movie.

First, if you're a fan of the Dan Ketch, grim-n'-gritty serious Ghost Rider series of the '90s, you might want to brace yourself. There is a jokey aspect to the movie, especially when dealing with Johnny Blaze, but some of it spills over into the battle scenes. Ghost Rider is still all about the vengeance and punishing evil, but certain mannerisms lighten things up a bit. So keep that in mind.

Second, if you don't like Nic Cage being Nic Cage, then this is going to be a rough movie for you. Because all of those little expressions, tics, and verbal stammering and jokey type stuff that Cage does in movies like The Rock, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds are here as well. They're mostly subdued, as Johnny is a verbally low-key guy, but they're present. Me, I don't mind that stuff, but you might.

So, let's get to the movie at large.

- I like the romance between Nic Cage and Eva Mendes, and not just because Mendes goes through pretty much the entire movie wearing low cut, cleavage-exposing outfits. There's something about it, after they meet each other again as adults, that feels like a couple of goofy teenagers trying to figure things out. They're awkward, and say stupid things that hurt each other, and Blaze shows off on his bike to get her attention, like the kid showing that he can do a somersault to impress a girl. And I think it works, since their relationship ended abruptly when they were teenagers, and they're trying to restart it, they pick up where they left off. Let me put it this way, I liked this romance story more than the Peter/MJ arc in the Spider-Man flicks.

- Matt Long (the young Johnny), was pretty good. I thought he did well with his facial expressions, very descriptive.

- I was glad to see Ghost Rider save a random innocent civilian. Always nice to see that the protagonist can take time out of their busy vengeance schedule to save people they don't know.

- Sam Elliot works well as The Caretaker. Better than he did as "Thunderbolt" Ross in The Hulk, certainly. Not that Elliot was bad in that, I think it's just a role that requires a more blustery persona, like how J.K. Simmons plays Jameson in the Spider-Man movies. But as The Caretaker, the grizzled vet who's seen a whole lot? Round of applause. And his horse is really cool. Cooler than Blaze's bike, and I liked that a lot.

-The "Ghost Rider tears through city while police pursue" scene was excellent. I especially enjoyed the police opening fire after Rider comes off the building, and Ghost Rider going up the side of the building. Certainly that part worked better than it did in Batman Forever.

- Best line of the movie? Mack's 'We were riding a gravy train on biscuit wheels long before you showed up.' That made me laugh.

- Problems. I had a hard time understanding what Ghost Rider was saying most of the time. But I have a hearing problem so it might have just been me. The Penance Stare didn't translate to film as well as I would have liked. Without Caretaker's explanation, I don't know that a non-comic reader would understand what was happening when Rider uses it. I'm still not certain why getting the prize all the bad guys are after is so important to them. How exactly it makes them too powerful, I'm not sure.

- The fights with the various demons were kinda weak (until the Blackheart one), but I think the story was more about Blaze holding onto humanity, so battles were incidental.

It's a decent enough film, nothing too weighty, and if you can go to a $6.00 matinee like I did, I'd say it's well worth the time (I still would have gone even if it cost more, I just like not sharing the theater with many people). What the price cutoff for you, is well, up to you.