I was pretty disappointed with this.
Of course, I went in expecting little. The first movie was entertaining almost solely because it’s fun to watch Nicholas Cage being a prick. He has his charms.
Ghost Rider 2 gains points in some areas over its predecessor, and loses points in others. The effects and action are definitely improved. Watching him try to fight the demon as it tries to take him over is fantastic. It borders on the scary, which is a good counterpart to the corniness of the film.
And then, the downsides.
The movie is actually quite boring in between action scenes. I found myself nodding off about halfway through it with all the walking around and talking.
Then the “dilophosaurus” scenes. (Please see Jurassic Park I for clarification) Well, I’ll call them that, at least. Ghost Rider grabs someone’s face and hisses at them while opening his mouth really wide. You grasp your seat in anticipation and eagerly await their soul to fly out of them and into his mouth. Instead, nothing really happens. He keeps staring at them. Their eyes shift color a bit. He stares some more. They wince. He stares some more. They wince. He stares some more. And you get the picture. One of these scenes in particular must have been a minute and a half long. Did anyone on the crew watch this after they made it? What the fuck is he even doing to them?
The movie also managed to kill off most of Nick Cage’s “charm”. They went from giving him lines that were corny but still hilarious when he said them, to giving him lines that just totally shit the bed. And I don’t mind corniness; it’s a comic book, after all. I don’t need my superhero movies to be all dark and dramatic. But a few of the lines were so bad I facepalmed, turned to Erek, and asked him if he REALLY JUST SAID THAT.
Also, the guy who plays the Devil – not scary. Not cool. BORINNNNNG. It’s a shame, because the whole concept of the comic is badass and they managed to muck it up this badly.
I would barely recommend this as a rental. If you’re a Nick Cage fan, it’s worth a watch..sort of.