Ghost Rider

[Failed Bridge 0]

I read the novel adaptation of the film and if they go exactly by the book then its going to be a terrific film. After reading the book there is one thing I'm wondering though and that is...

 

Matt Murdoch makes an appearance at the end as Blaze's attorney. I wonder if they were able to get Ben Afflek to reprise the role, even if it is just a real minor part

[AndrewTS 0]

I was hopeful, but seeing the newer TV trailers...it's looking less and less promising.

 

Plus, there are no reviews in and it comes out TOMORROW.

 

That's not good.

[spman 0]

I watched this tonight, it was ok, but I was kind of bored. It stayed true to the comic for the most part, but the writing sucked ass, and the acting wasn't much better. As far as the Marvel B Team goes, this was better then Fantastic FOur and Hulk but behind Punisher and Daredevil. I give it a C.

[randomguy 0]

It was not screened for critics.

 

It looks dopey to me. Ghost Rider can be dark and serious but they made him a goof.

[starvenger 0]

It was not screened for critics.

 

It looks dopey to me. Ghost Rider can be dark and serious but they made him a goof.

The Toronto Star guy saw a preview, but said that it was about as last minute as you could get. Reading the review, I basically got the same feeling that I got after watching Daredevil - that Mark Steven Johnson is a hack writer slash director, and despite his alleged love of comics, should never be let near a comics property again.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Just got back from watching it tonight.

 

The good

 

The special effects were fucking AWESOME. I loved the CGI treatment they gave Ghost Rider. From blowing shit up when he drives by on his Hellbike to driving up and down a building, it was just so cool to see.

 

Sam Elliot absolutely rocked as the Caretaker and YES, as it obviously showed beforehand, he's the original Ghost Rider. He's not around for long, but it was nice to see him again in a Marvel movie.

 

Peter Fonda was cool as Mephisto.

 

A lot of funny parts in the movie. Humor was good.

 

The bad

 

This movie felt rushed so I'm definitely expecting an Unrated / Director's Cut to come out on DVD next year.

 

Unfortunately, Johnny Blaze is basically an idiot in this movie and literally a flamer (he listens to Carpenters music). Its so sad to see. I hated it, but what do you expect?

 

They reused the plot point of Elektra of having the hero fight against elemental jobbers. I don't even remember what their names were, that's how much time they had in the movie as Ghost Rider handled them with ease.

 

And of course, the absolute worst part of the movie. They RUINED Blackheart! One of my favorite Marvel villains! If you were expecting the intimidating 7 ft. tall demon with the tail and the long, cool-looking curved hair, be horribly disappointed as Blackheart in this movie is just Wes Bentley with red eyes, dark skin, and a few small CGI horns sticking out of his face. He doesn't even use any cool powers other than a chokeslam and his touch of death. If you thought Dr. Doom was castrated in FF, this was far worse. Infact, probably the worst main supervillain movie treatment yet.

 

Basically, another X-Men 3 treatment. Decent for the most part, could have been far better. I think it hurts even worse this movie was from the same guy who directed Daredevil. And FFMS,

no Matt Murdock appearance in the movie.

[Failed Bridge 0]

If they had gone by the book then the movie would have been 20min longer and about 10 times better. I'll get into what they left out of it tommorow.

[Vyce 0]

I am intrigued about the possibility of a director's cut. Here's hoping that, like Daredevil, there was a ton of shit that got left on the cutting room floor that can be put back in to make this a more 'complete' film.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Things that were left out of the film and were in the book

 

 

1.) At the start when Blaze is working for the carnival, after he and his father do the first stunt, Roxie meets him back at the garage-tent which leads to a meeting with Roxie's father (who is also the owner of the carnival). Roxie's father tells Blaze that he's just a carnie, a phase, and things could never work between Blaze and his daughter.

 

2.) Morning when Blaze's dad is cured of cancer they have a shared stunt scheduled for that day. In the movie its only Barton Blaze that has a scheduled stunt. In the book Barton catches Johnny about to leave and confronts him on the whole Roxie situation. After coming to terms with the fact that Johnny will be leaving he decides to give him the keys to his best bike Grace. Grace is what he rides during every stunt, but he doesn't get to ride it for the stunt that day and loses control of the bike he is riding leading to his death

 

3.) The confrontation between the Devil and Blaze on the highway after the father's death is still there in the movie, but in the book the Devil never takes responsability for Barton's death. Instead he tells Blaze "I cured him and left the choices of the future up to you", basically telling Johnny that his selfishness is responsable for his father's death.

 

4.) When Blackheart goes to kill that waitress that was hiding in the bar he grills her for info on the contract and where the cemetery is. Before killing her he explains that fearful souls make him grow stronger and that he's basically eating the souls or some shit. This makes why he's looking for the contract make more sense and also doesn't make all his killings just seem senseless. He's also at that bar because he sensed the Hidden where there. He calls them out and tells them they can join him and turn on his father or end up like the corpses around him. They don't just show up out of the blue as if it was a pre-arranged meeting.

 

5.) Roxie never asks the waiter if he thinks she looks pretty. She just throws some money down and walks out. The following morning when Blaze meets up with her she goes off on him. She says "My father was right, we never could be together. You were only a phase" and he responds reluctantly "You're right" and leaves. Him saying that is what prompts her to go to his loft and find out what the real reason why he couldn't make the dinner date was. In the movie Blaze says "I turn into a monster and become the Devil's Bounty Hunter" but in the book he goes into great detail about his transformation and also the transformation to Grace. It makes alot more sense at her being able to recognise the Ghost Rider as Johnny when he's riding up the building later on as she sees the exact end result of the transformation he described, rather than her just picking that out as "the monster".

 

6.) Huge fight with the air elemental in the book. In the movie they just had Blaze squash him but in the book it was a drawn out fight where it took time for Ghost Rider to figure out just how to expose of something that couldn't be wrapped up by the chain.

 

7.) After speaking with the priest Blackheart and the remaining elemental go to the cemetary and confront Caretaker. They basically beat him to a bloody pulp trying to find out where the contract is but he doesn't tell them. That's when they decide to have the Rider obtain it for them.

 

8.) At the very end (as I earlier posted) it explains that before Blaze left town he had to go to court for the charges brought upon him but Matt Murdoch, an old family friend of Roxie's, got him off the hook.

[cabbageboy 0]

I quite enjoyed the movie. Not one of Marvel's absolute best but Ghost Rider was always a favorite of mine in the comics. I liked all the Midnight Sons stuff actually. How about a Morbius movie, or is he too much of a jobber?

 

Sam Elliot was awesome, but then when is he not awesome? His last scene is hilarious for some reason:

 

Caretaker reveals himself to be the Ghost Rider from the 1800s and turns into GR. In theory this is to take Blaze to the town to confront Blackheart and the 1000 souls. Once they get near the town Caretaker just turns back to himself, says he only had that one last time in him...and then just vanishes. He didn't actually help Blaze in the fight, after leading him all that way. I don't know why but that cracked me up to no end.

[cabbageboy 0]

Double post, bah.

[Failed Bridge 0]

In the book its explained that he couldn't enter the town. I imagine it was something like the ballplayers leaving the field in Field of Dreams.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Thanks for posting all that, FFMS. I wish that's what we got in the film instead as well as the REAL Blackheart.

[daileyxplanet 0]

Expect the "human" Blackheart to be replaced with a CGI paste job ala Star Wars Episode IV's Special Edition in the Definitive Edition. Also, he will now shoot first.