Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (3D)

Dude, Where's my Karma?

There appear to be two Nicolas Cages available for screen-duty and you’re never sure which one you’ll get. Will he be the sullen, furrowed-brow and somewhat awkwardly photo-fitted everyman thrust from something mundane into something dramatic or will he be, instead, the wide-eyed, mad as a bag of spanners loner at the gates of oblivion? And so to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Nicolas Cage…perhaps sprit of vegemite. 

While many of Marvel’s comic-book heroes have negotiated Hollywood pay-days, the Ghost Rider franchise often feels like it received the court-appointed lawyer rather than the high-class attorney. The black-sheep of the super-powered fraternity, the character of Johnny Blaze sold his soul to the devil (for heavenly reasons, to be sure) but has never really escaped those infernal affairs in either comic continuity or pragmatic spin-offs since.

The last Ghost Rider film was an adequate but disposable romp that didn’t do anything specifically wrong and boasted some impressive effects but equally had a plot that never inspired any fanboy devotion. Somehow it missed the superhero boat and in an industry that insists on sequels from even minor hits, no-one was actually clamouring for or even expecting  more mephistopholes-motorbike’d mayhem. 

So when it was announced a new Ghost Rider film would debut – not so much a sequel as a non-contradicting re-boot – a few eyebrows were raised. When a trailer then appeared that also showed a bald, sword-wielding monk (Highlander’s Christopher Lambert) and our anti-hero actually urinating fire – some eyeballs rolled.  Soooooo... Gates of Oblivion it is, then.

Neither ignoring nor relying on the previous outing, Spirit of Vengeance sees Johnny Blaze (Cage) exiling himself to Eastern Europe and doing his best to  control the raging spirit that dwells within him. However it's a lost cause and before you can say 'Have you got a light?' Blaze and his alter-ego are up to their flaming neck with a potential anti-Christ, devilish deals, daddy-issues, multi-car pile-ups and the ever-watchable Idris Elba taking le mickey out of a French accent.  Blaze is ready to rid himself of his infernal curse once and for all but as the bodies, automobiles and motorbikes pile up, he begins to wonder if his alter-ego could be an angelic blessing in disguise. However this time he seems to be merely a pawn in a larger gambit - can even his penance stare and lasso-chain skills save him?

Anyone expecting Oscar-nominations or any real degree of subtlety has probably forgotten that Spirit of Vengeance has sprung forth from the directing duo behind the delightfully daft and testosterone-fuelled Crank movies. For their latest outing, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor turn it up to '11' and decide they're going to have fun. Plot and logic are for wimps. How much you enjoy what follows largely depends on your ability to simply go with the anarchic flow...

There's no denying that the story treads an overly formulaic highway of good vs evil seen in films since the overwrought days of classic  Hammer and the interchangable characters and plot of far too many an 80s' outing, but what it lacks within a familiar script, it certainly makes up for in pure VFX. The Ghost Rider character himself is lovingly rendered in a mix of CGI, a little more charred than before, but even more imposing in 3D. The stunts are over-the-top but a treat to the eye and while the budget is not of Avengers proportions, not a dime has been wasted in post-production.

In turn, Cage grimaces, frowns and screams (aptly) like a man possessed, shifting between pouting melancholy and wide-eyed hysteria with glee. Forget the dream of being Superman, there's a solid argument to be made that this is the superhero he was born to play, a true son of anarchy. The supporting cast go through the motions.  Violante Placido (last seen simmering nicely in the meandering The American) shifts to a different momentum compeltely as Nadya, the redemption-seeking damsel in distress. Blink and you'll miss Anthony Stewart Head as a flawed bishop and Christophe Lambert's felonious monk 'Methodius' is disappointingly disposable in his own madness.  Ciaran Hinds, however, yucks it up nicely as the great Big Bad.

The high-brow critics will probably bemoan this film as a mess and while they may have something of a point, it's also unapologetic fun and never takes itself too seriously.  It's The Omen meets Highlander 3,  Easy Rider meets Maximum Overdrive and should be approached as such.  Perhaps a strong contender for the 'beer-and-pizza' outing of the year so far, go in knowing what to expect and you may not be bedevilled with disappointment. 

7/10

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (3D) is released by Entertainment One on 17th February