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Johnny Blaze or JB (Nicolas Cage), a stunt motorcyclist at a carnival, gives his soul to
Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) in exchange for the good health of his dying cancer stricken father. His father recovers completely but dies soon after a dangerous stunt.
Nevertheless, the devil insists a deal is a deal and tells JB he will eventually claim the latter's services. Because of his death defying jumps, leaps and falls, JB becomes a sensation. So spectacular are the stunts that even JB is surprised with his own success. He again meets Roxanne (Eva Mendez), the beloved girlfriend of his youth and wishes to revive their relationship. JB also regrets the mistake he made with the devil and wishes to rectify it but is helpless. Occasionally, he is transformed into the ghost rider who hunts down rogue demons. This motor cycling vigilante with a flaming skull brings havoc wherever he passes though he helps some people in distress. Now Blackheart, (Wes Bently), the devil's son is engaged in a power struggle with his father and wishes to get hold of a missing contract involving souls. Mephistopheles now directs JB to get rid of his son and promises to return JB's soul. Blackheart, however, gets hold of Roxanne and threatens to kill her if JB does not deliver the contract to him instead. Who will the ghost rider serve? Or will he turn against both?
Formerly an anime, Ghost Rider
outdoes the spectacular stunts and thrills of its earlier screen version. Action picture enthusiasts as well as motorcycle "freaks" will be entertained by the gripping display of skills and harrowing slug fests that often put the movie goer at the edge of his seat. Nicolas Cage plays the superhero with confidence in this Marvel Comics screen adaptation as he "flies" on his motorcycle with the help of impressive special effects and CGI. Though Cage is adequate in the action scenes, there is not much opportunity for acting otherwise. This is true of the others in the cast. Though fire is symbolical of hell and demons and appropriate for the story, there is just too much of it here. There is a surfeit of violence.
Most people are familiar with the well known legend about a philosopher Faust who sold his soul to
Mephistopheles in exchange for material and temporal benefits. In this movie Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze gives his soul not for greed nor pride nor power but because of
love for his father. He wanted his father's health restored.
But this end or goal, no matter how noble, does not justify the ignoble or wrong way he used to attain it. And Johnny realizes this too late. And because of this wrongdoing (just like when we compromise with evil to achieve what we think is good), Johnny is cursed to ride the night as the ghost rider, often impelled to do things he would unlikely do in his "normal" moments. Does this parallel some situations in life when one wrong thing leads to another? One positive value shown is that though Johnny knows it is almost impossible to rectify his mistake he does not give up trying to find a way as shown by his search in books. As he tells the devil, "you have my soul but not my spirit." Young people who see this movie need parental guidance as it has a lot of horror violence and it may also spawn some questions about evil and the spiritual life.
(Date Reviewed: 16 February 2007)
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