Like it or not, accept it or not, there's no denying the truth: Ghost Rider pees fire. He does, at least, when put in the hands of co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.
The "Crank" filmmakers are the men revving Nicolas Cage up for his second hellish ride in "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," coming it at number five on our list of the most anticipated comic book movies of 2012. It's also the first comic book movie of the year, speeding into theaters in just over a month — so consider this your first place to get some Marvel movie mayhem in 2012.
In "Spirit of Vengeance," Cage once again straps on the leather jacket and sets his skull on fire as stunt rider turned demonic vigilante Johnny Blaze. This time, Blaze rides through Eastern Europe on a mission to save a young boy — rumored to be Danny Ketch, one of the Riders of Marvel lore — from being possessed by The Devil (Ciaran Hinds). As if being The Devil wasn't badass enough, Blaze's new nemesis has an ally on his side in the form of Blackout (Johnny Whitworth). In Blaze's corner is Moreau, a warrior monk played by "The Wire" and "Luther" actor Idris Elba. Death-by-Penance-Stare and other forms of PG-16 madness ensue.
Vote for "Ghost Rider" in the MTV Movie Brawl 2012!
From certain points of view, "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" has a lot going for it. It has a killer cast between Cage, Elba, Hinds, Whitworth and more (Christopher Lambert, guys!), comes courtesy of the undeniably unique vision of Neveldine/Taylor, and features a Ghost Rider who, you know, pees fire. If nothing else, it can't be worse than the 2007 film, right?
Well… about that. "Spirit of Vengeance" screened early at AICN's BNAT festival in December, and overall, the reviews were not kind.
"Ghost Rider 2 manages to make me look fondly back on Ghost Rider. Unbearable," wrote Badass Digest's Devin Faraci after seeing the movie, while film critic Jordan Hoffman added: "Ghost Rider 2 makes Ghost Rider 1 look like Dark Knight." Ouch.
But AICN and BNAT founder Harry Knowles expressed his "love" for the film, writing: "Go into this as a fan of GHOST RIDER and a fan of the CRANK films and honestly, I can't imagine being disappointed."
Which, for me, has been exactly my outlook from the minute this creative team was announced. "Vengeance" won't be every person's cup of tea — and if the film really is as bad as Faraci, Hoffman and others suggest, it really might not be mine — but as a fan of Neveldine/Taylor and Cage's signature brands of crazy, I'm obligated to check it out. Nothing will stand between me and a front row seat on February 17, 2012.
I mean, seriously. He pees fire. To quote Ina Garten, how bad can that be?
Tell us what you think of "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" in the comments section and on Twitter!
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