The Cage Review: Ghost Rider

Whew! Finally! I got to watch another Nicolas Cage movie. Mr. Cage, I got the pleasure of seeing Ghost Rider. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to be watching. I had the 'valued' movie opinions of two people. Of course, these two people couldn't possibly be further apart on the movie enjoyment spectrum. My dad, the guy who thinks Twister is the most epic movie of all time (no offense dad, but a cow was flying through the air. *sigh*) And then there's the opinion of Mr. Movie himself...my hubby. No offense to the hubby but he's a bit...well...how to put this gently? He's a movie snob. Popcorn movies are the bane of his existence. You see my pickle. Will I love it? Will I hate it?

Let's start with the basics. Ghost Rider (2007) is about an Evel Knievel dude named Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) who just so happens to sell his soul to the devil to save his dear old dad's life. Turns out that the devil? Yeah. Not so great of a guy. And selling his soul to the devil puts him on the automatic draft list for Team Devil's Bounty Hunter, a.k.a the Ghost Rider. When Blaze is living the high life as the hottest motorcycle stuntman of the day, the devil cashes in and Blaze gets an automatic power up to his already smokin' hot bike. Oh, he also gets a smokin' hot body. Literally. (If you've never seen the movie then you should know that I'm not just referring to Mr. Cage's six pack, but the fact that he turns into a blazing skeleton with inhuman powers.) Blaze gets the job of conquering the devil's naughty offspring who wants to, you guessed it, take over the world. Blaze's mission is to stop Blackheart from bringing total destruction to Earth. It's co-starring Eva Mendes as the love interest that got away, but comes back as the typical gorgeous reporter (because all reporters look like that, right?). And Sam Elliott plays the ageless Ghost Rider mentor.

Alright. I'm just gonna say it. I apologize in advance Mr. Cage. It wasn't my favorite Nicolas Cage movie. That being said, I did enjoy it. If this is any measure to the enjoyment level, I stayed awake through the whole thing after being completely exhausted from gardening in the 90 degree heat all day. It had a few cheesy lines and the graphics will probably be a million times better with the sequel (set for release in 2012). A small thing that kinda bugged me was that the flaming skull looked a bit small for the body at times. That kinda gave me a little twitch from time to time. I'm sure that's just an artist thing though. The story was pretty basic and there weren't any huge surprises. I laughed a couple of times and smiled at the end. Gotta just say that Nicolas Cage once again made the movie infinitely more enjoyable than if he wouldn't have been in it. What is it about you, Mr. Cage? Anyhow, I can't give it a five star, and I am fairly certain I won't be chomping at the bit to watch it again. Basically, I'm going to have to go with three stars on the old Cage Review chart (see side bar). It definitely wasn't a wasted night because I enjoyed watching it. I'll leave you with this to chew on: Nicolas Cage on a motorcycle - me likey.