EDGE Chicago

"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is a late-night opportunity to turn off your brain and zone out for 95 minutes. The sequel to the 2007 film debut of this obscure Marvel superhero once again features a mumbling, mugging, Nicolas Cage as motorcyclist Johnny Blaze, who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for the life of his dying father. Blaze’s price for this transcendental arrangement becomes his alter ego, the Ghost Rider, a fire burning skeleton-on-wheels who tries to do good while doing bad, with inconsistent degrees of success.

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor were tapped to helm this latest installment, which took the crew all around Eastern Europe in an effort to create some type of palpable action thriller, albeit with a significant decrease in the budget compared to the original, and the results reflect their lack of resources. Special effects that look like a rip-off of the "Terminator" franchise combined with old Wang Chung videos, and a script that delivers no character sympathy for either side conflicting within the film, creates an uninteresting series of excuses for pissing off Johnny Blaze in order to see how many permutations of Hulk-like transitions Cage can display on screen.

The Special Features for this release are few, but do provide one of the few redeeming moments in the Deleted Scenes, which feature segments that may have provided an extra minute or two of entertainment to this meaningless film, especially one clip featuring the Devil attempting to rent-a-car, and having to navigate a contract signing (something he knows about all too well!) with an uncooperative rental agent.

Otherwise, this movie gives us minimal redemption for our viewing time. If Hollywood decides that there should be further additions to the "Ghost Rider" franchise, they have clearly made their own deal with the Devil, and he has triumphed convincingly at our expense.

"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance"
Blu-ray™ and UltraViolet™
Columbia / Sony Pictures