Did you see the first Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance trailer? Did you even know there's going to be a second Ghost Rider movie? You're excused if Nicolas Cage's return to Marvel's flaming undead motorcycle enthusiast slipped under your radar in a summer filled with quality comic book movies like Captain America and X-Men: First Class. While Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance won't be out until next February, the new trailer is raising hopes that the sequel will be an improvement on the 2007 original.
Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank) have clearly upped the action, delivering visceral chase sequences and some creative uses of Ghost Rider's chain. (Ghost Rider tossing a bad guy in the air is better than anything in the first movie.) The special effects have also greatly improved.
That said, fans are divided over the campy scene where Ghost Rider literally pees fire. The overall tone of the trailer suggests that, like audiences, Neveldine and Taylor don't take Ghost Rider very seriously. Which is a shame, because Ghost Rider is one of Marvel Knight's (the banner that Marvel groups their edgy comics under) flagship characters. Here are some tips for how Marvel can fix Ghost Rider for the inevitable third movie, along with some new photos from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank) have clearly upped the action, delivering visceral chase sequences and some creative uses of Ghost Rider's chain. (Ghost Rider tossing a bad guy in the air is better than anything in the first movie.) The special effects have also greatly improved.
That said, fans are divided over the campy scene where Ghost Rider literally pees fire. The overall tone of the trailer suggests that, like audiences, Neveldine and Taylor don't take Ghost Rider very seriously. Which is a shame, because Ghost Rider is one of Marvel Knight's (the banner that Marvel groups their edgy comics under) flagship characters. Here are some tips for how Marvel can fix Ghost Rider for the inevitable third movie, along with some new photos from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
Swap out Johnny Blaze for Danny Ketch.Original Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze has returned to the comics in the past few years, so it makes sense that he rides the flaming cycle on the big screen. But for fans who read Ghost Rider comics during the character's grim and gritty '90s incarnation, Danny Ketch is their Spirit of Vengeance. Word is that Danny Ketch will turn up in Spirit of Vengeance as a kid, played by Irish actor Fergus Riordan. (He's the one in the trailer who asks Johnny what happens if he has to pee while on fire.) Perhaps the next film could flash forward to Ketch as a young man. (Ghost Rider had a Peter Parker quality in the '90s.) It's time to send Nicolas Cage's Johnny Blaze to that great biker bar up in the sky. Speaking of Cage...
Ditch Nicolas Cage for some new blood.Ghost Rider isn't just a mediocre comic book movie franchise -- it's a mediocre Nic Cage franchise. With his many recent cinematic misfires (Season of the Witch, Drive Angry, just to name a few turkeys this year), Cage brings far too much baggage. And like the jokey tone of the Spirit of Vengeance trailer, everything he does onscreen these days is in air quotes. (Ghost Rider shouldn't be a "Nic Cage" movie.) Recasting the lead with a more credible actor (sorry, Nic) would go a long way toward elevating the next Ghost Rider from the sort of special effects-heavy duds that studios dump into theaters in the dead of winter. (Like pretty much every recent Nic Cage movie.) My casting recommendation? Ryan Gosling. As the trailer for the upcoming crime drama Drive shows, Gosling has the edge necessary to make Ghost Rider more than a B-movie hero.
Keep the story focused on street crime.With car chases and shots of machine-gun-blazing thugs, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance looks to be action-packed and blissfully free of Wes Bentley's annoying Blackheart. Still, the rumored plot about Ghost Rider trying to stop the Devil (Ciarán Hinds) and new villain Blackout (Johnny Whitworth) from possessing a young boy sounds like every single supernatural flick ever made. Much like how the Punisher movies have turned out to be generic vigilante flicks, the Ghost Rider franchise is hard to tell apart from End of Days, Legion, and other lackluster action/horror flicks. Ghost Rider works best when the supernatural elements are downplayed in favor of good, old-fashioned crimefighting. Take a cue from the '90s comics and let him use the chain on another underworld -- the mob.
Adapt Jason Aaron's comics.That said, if the movies do keep pushing the supernatural element, they might as well adapt the all-out war against Heaven from rising comic book superstar Jason Aaron's recent Ghost Rider run. In addition to giving the Spirit of Vengeance the same darkly satirical edge he brings to his acclaimed Punisher series, Aaron introduced Ghost Riders from the past, teamed up Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, and gave the rogue's gallery (like new movie villain Blackout, right) some real grit. Easily the most acclaimed Ghost Rider scribe, Aaron put a distinctive stamp on a character whose comics tend toward the generic. Thus, his work is ripe for movies.
Make Ghost Rider scary.A literal spirit of vengeance who causes evildoers to experience the pain of their victims via his "penance stare," Ghost Rider is one of Marvel's freakiest heroes. When he rides up on his motorcycle, his flaming chain clanking behind him, villains quake in terror. But in the movies, Ghost Rider is just kind of silly. Now that the CGI has improved, Ghost Rider needs to be a terrifying antihero who strikes fear in the hearts of men. Cheap gags about expelling fire from every orifice are a step in the wrong direction. For the next film, Marvel should play down the jokey "man on fire" element and focus on making Ghost Rider as creepy as he is in the comics.
Team up Ghost Rider with Punisher and Daredevil.While Marvel's urban characters are currently all at different studios, it's only a matter of time before they nab them back and consolidate all of their superhero movies under the Marvel/Disney banner. When that happens, Marvel would be wise to follow the Avengers template and team up Ghost Rider, Punisher, and Daredevil for a "Marvel Knights" movie. Though they tend to bash criminal heads solo, the street vigilante corner of the Marvel Universe is no stranger to crossovers. (Punisher, Daredevil, and Ghost Rider have teamed up and fought one another on a number of occasions.) Since Marvel has had difficulty developing watchable movies for their street-level heroes, connecting them as they have with the Avengers could be the key to cracking the Marvel Knights code.
