160 - Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

    Some religious group is trying to prevent the evil entity (actually a fallen angel, who seems to be filling in for the devil) from getting the means of utilizing it's power by using a young boy as a vessel (or something like this).  They approach Johnny Blaze with the offer that if he helps out, they'll lift the Ghost Rider curse from him.
    This movie isn't especially good.  It was mostly inoffensively fun, but I found that as the story wore on, and especially by the time the movie ended, I felt like there were some really big problems.
    This type of story has been done several times.  Protecting the "chosen one" to prevent some massive supernatural power change from happening.  In this movie, there's a really huge hurdle to jump.  They made Ghost Rider way too powerful.  He incinerates those that touch his chain.  His chain also seems to have no particular length to it - it changes as needed.
    There's also a big change in how his penance stare works.  In the comics, it's a little more torturous, and it serves as a punishment.  He looks at the victim, and they are forced to experience the pain they have inflicted on others.  In this, the stare seems to be a method of extracting the victim's soul, killing them.  All of this is to say that they have a hard time giving him any meaningful opposition.
    The direction is really strange.  Much of it is competent, but now and then there are really bizarre bits.  Like the strange shot of Ghost Rider in the air, spinning around.
    And this is also the weirdest, most over-the-top performance Nicolas Cage has ever given.  There's a scene, around 32 minutes in, which I really wanted to post with this review.  Cage goes completely crazy, and changes his type of delivery with every line.  Luckily, I found it.

    So…it's not a great movie.  But it's watchable.