Thread by @filmobjective

#FilmTwitter
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a 2001 CBM made 10 years late. Expectations in 2011 were COMPLETELY different. Does this mean the film is “underrated?”

It’s respectably loony. Cage expresses it facially to a level of enjoyment that prevents it from being boring.

But it sidesteps its ability to be, even on its own terms, a "good movie."

Its problems are in conventions. The henchman villain is dramatically inert. The girl has no energy at all, not dramatic, not romantic, nothing. She really should have had crazy charisma.

They set it up that anything Ghost Rider "rides" transforms in his image …

so the natural punchline would have been a ridiculous sex scene, Cage screaming on fire as she transforms into a hardcore demon queen. Something WAY over-excessively, memorably, nonsensically perverse.

Instead, this is a PG-13 action movie that doesn’t quite embrace itself; it’s more like it’s trying to “get away” w/ things in a kids' movie. The constant crash zooms are hilarious and ACTUALLY keep the movie watchable. A scene where Cage interrogates a bad guy is amazing.

But the audience is miles away from caring about the plot, which needed to be subverted instead of used as a crutch. I wanted the lame villain to be unceremoniously scorched dead at the halfway point so new conflict could come up. This movie should be anything but boilerplate.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the action. It doesn’t recall comic books so much as the feeling of playing w/ a PLAYSET, like a boxed set Ghost Rider construction yard. The cinematography is strangely real, almost music video-esque, while the VFX are proud of fakery.

Here’s how I'd describe the problem. Cage mo-capped the Rider. So this means that if you think about it, the CAMERA got to see a transcendent Cage performance that they covered up w/ okay CGI. This film would be a masterpiece if they released a no-effects version, I’m serious!

This is almost like a lost film in a way.

However, one thing in contrast to other CBMs is that the film gets through exposition w/o continually relying on re-explaining the plot. This makes it more fun than Blade, Spawn, X-Men Origins, movies obsessed w/ unnecessary handholding.

And I know Blade has its fans. But when a film is SO loaded w/ repetitive, low-energy exposition scenes, the quality of the plot stands out more.

Ghost Rider being hilariously over-styled makes it a joy to watch in comparison.

Watch how each film handles an interrogation scene:

Note this is not the same as the plot being compelling (it isn't).

Ghost Rider knows what it SHOULD be - when I was laughing, I believe that Neveldine/Taylor (the guys behind Crank) intended for me to laugh. And that’s a really good feeling! Even if it’s not really a good movie.