Credits

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor Starring: Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba Screenplay: Scott M. Gimple, Seth Hoffman, David S. Goyer Country: USA

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OK, so I am the guy who liked the first Ghost Rider movie, I need to point that out straight away. I am aware that some of you may choose to avoid my reviews in future after this revelation, but for any of its faults: it had the fucking Ghost Rider in it. Oh, and Eva Mendes in some outfits that were so tight you can almost count the hairs on her. well, they were pretty tight.

This new production, under the Marvel Knights line (a lower budget, more violent, less mainstream part of Marvel films) was directed by the team of Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine, who brought us the Crank films and Gamer, and was written by Scott M. Gimple (episodes of The Walking Dead), Seth Hoffman and David S. Goyer (Dark City and the Blade films. amongst others).

This reboot of the Ghost Rider tale sees Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), the alter ego of the demon motorcyclist Ghost Rider, roped into assisting a wine scoffing warrior monk by the name of Moreau (Idris Elba) who is working for a religious order to stop the devil in his human guise Roarke (Ciaran Hinds) from kidnapping a young boy. The boy, Danny (Fergus Riordan), is on the run with his mother Nadya (Violante Placido) and if he falls into Roarke's hands... well, presumably bad things will happen. Naturally Roarke has a mercenary working for him named Ray Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth) whose efforts to get the boy are assisted by a dark, evil gift. Throw in Highlander's Christopher Lambert as a tattooed religious fanatic and you have the potential for an absolute blast!

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance had a much lower budget than the previous outing, but it is a very different film, with a darker, dirtier vibe that a larger budget possibly would have been detrimental to. The look of the main character and his motorcycle are so much fierier than in the first film, with the Rider's skull charred and the flames belching a thick polluting smoke that is echoed in the emissions from his motorcycle. His leathers aren't smooth like in the first film, they bubble and pop, giving the fire real intensity, and you can almost feel the heat from it.

Most of the performances in the film are good, except, I hate to say it, for Cage's. He is supposed to be a man haunted by a demon within, but his hamming leans into Vaudevillian territory which doesn't really suit parts of the film.

The story is a little generic, and plot points will jump out at seasoned film goers well before they happen. That is not to say there aren't some interesting moments (keep your eye out for a tribute to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", a joke about the use by date of Twinkies and the Ghost Rider 'hellifying' a gigantic piece of digging equipment) but the direction is the hero here. Neveldine and Taylor deliver their hectic style seen in the Crank films and it suits the character perfectly, making Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance a blast to watch.

The Deleted Scenes are cool: essentially unnecessary but interesting if only for the semi-finished CGI.

Director's Expanded Video Commentary is the best director's commentary ever. It features Taylor and Neveldine standing in front of the film and commenting, stopping the film for 'making of footage' and picture in picture stuff with alternate shots and making of bits. It's a really interesting and innovative commentary that has a wry sense of humour as well. It does, however, double up on some of the info given in the The Path to Vengeance doco.