No one can deny that Ghost Rider, the 2007 big-screen adaptation with Nicolas Cage, was a terrible superhero movie. But, it’s nothing compared to the gonzo sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which was directed by the duo Neveldine/ Taylor, who you might remember best for the Crank films. This was their big stab at making a conventional, PG-13 big studio movie, but it misfired BADLY, with the film earning an even worse critical reception than its predecessor and performing even worse at the box office. So what went wrong?
In this episode of Marvel Revisited, our host Kier Gomes tries to unpack what has to be one of the most eccentric superhero movies ever made. It was produced for only half what the first movie cost and it did a few things right, such as ditching the weird wig Cage wore as Johnny Blaze in the original film. But, it ditched some of the things people enjoyed about the original, such as Eva Mendes as the love interest and Peter Fonda, who played a memorably unhinged Satan. The sequel brought in Idris Elba in one of his first big studio roles but gave him nothing to do while also squeezing in cult star Christopher Lambert in a tiny role. But it’s hampered by a PG-13 rating, which doesn’t allow Neveldine/ Taylor to do their thing. Ultimately, it would be their last film as a duo, although Cage has gone on record (with us) saying that he loved the movie. He actually retimed with Brian Taylor a few years later for a much better movie called Mom and Dad.
All due respect to Cage, upon revisiting the movie our man Kier didn’t find too much to love, as he explains in this fun video. Make sure to give it a watch and let us know in the comments what you think!