Ghost Rider Blu-ray delivers stunning video and audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
From Marvel Comics, creators of Spider-Man, Blade and X-Men, comes a new hero... Ghost
Rider. Long ago, superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) made a deal
with the devil to protect the ones he loved most: his father and his childhood sweetheart,
Roxanne (Eva Mendes). Now, the devil has come for his due. By day, Johnny is a die-hard
stunt rider... but at night, in the presence of evil, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter
of rogue demons. Forced to do the devil's bidding, Johnny is determined to confront his fate
and use his curse and powers to defend the innocent.
The thing about legends is, sometimes, they're true.
The thing about legends is, sometimes, they're overshadowed by far more interesting ones. Such
is the case with Ghost Rider, a late-model motion picture cobbled together from the inky
pages of the Marvel Comics and victim of the decade-long influx of superhero-themed motion
pictures. The fan-favorite comic's filmed adaptation both failed to live up to expectations and has
subsequently been reduced to something of a mere afterthought in the wake of the success of
films like The Dark Knight, not
to mention other and more popular Marvel franchises-turned-superior-pictures, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.
Nifty special effects aren't enough to save Ghost Rider from a bland story with an inflated
runtime and poor acting; the film is simply not in the same league as its aforementioned Marvel
cousins, an unfortunate fate for a character and series that, particularly in this day and age of
surprising good superhero/comic book filmed adaptations, deserved far better.
Burnin' up the road.
Young Johnny Blaze (Matt Long) and father Barton (Brett Cullen) are motorcyclists that perform
dangerous stunts to adoring crowds. However, Barton is dying of cancer. Enter Mephistopheles
(Peter Fonda, Easy Rider), a
demon who transforms human souls into his demonic minions to carry out his deeds on Earth.
Promising to cure his father of cancer, Mephistopheles convinces Johnny to sell his soul. When
his father dies the following day during a stunt gone wrong, Johnny abandons his world and
girlfriend
Roxy (Raquel Alessi) as he heads out alone in search of who he is. Years later, Johnny (Nicholas
Cage, It Could Happen to
You) has become one of the world's top stuntmen, successfully performing various and
deadly
feats on his motorcycle. After a chance meeting with Roxy (Eva Mendes, Hitch), Johnny is once
again approached by Mephistopheles who tasks him with collecting an old contract of souls
before Mephistopheles' son Blackheart (Wes Bentley) can obtain it and use it as leverage to defeat
his father
and rule uninhibited. Johnny soon discovers his power as the Ghost Rider, a flaming skeletal
creature capable of great destruction -- or life-saving heroics. With both Mephistopheles and
Blackheart maneuvering to gain total power, it's up to Johnny and his supernatural ability to
choose sides and shape destiny.
The funny thing about Ghost Rider is that it's a slightly better film before the whole
"Ghost
Rider" angle really begins to pan out almost halfway through the film. Johnny Blaze's early life,
his father's illness, selling his soul to the devil, leaving his girl behind, and his exploits as a
professional stuntman aren't particularly handled with any sort of gusto nor do they make for
must-see filmmaking, but it's enough -- cliché ridden and all -- to hold one's interest. It's almost
too bad the movie delves heavily into heightened special effects, nonsensical action, and a trite
plot line that even viewers that doze off several times throughout can easily keep up with. A film
falling apart when it gets to the crux of the story is a bad sign to be sure, and it's
the death knell of a fairly inconsequential Superhero motion picture. Once Ghost Rider
moves past the opening act, the story drags considerably, and at two hours in length, the movie
is far too long and spends too much time with meaningless character backstory that's not
handled particularly well and only serves to maximize the blandness between action sequences.
Ghost Rider is the antithesis of something like Iron Man; Director Mark Steven
Johnson's (Daredevil) picture is
proof-positive that a lackluster script and bad acting cannot be overcome by strong special effects
and loud action sequences. Iron Man delivers the perfect balance of character
development and action; Ghost Rider admirably tries, but falls short at every turn, the
result a dragging, purposeless picture that's good for a few laughs but not at all memorable as a
hallmark of its genre.
Sadly, the problems plaguing Ghost Rider don't end there. The film is terribly bathed in
cliché, both in dialogue and supporting visuals and sounds. Mephistopheles' pitch to a young
Johnny is supported by booms of thunder meant to accentuate every dastardly piece of the
proposal; the romance between a young Johnny and Roxy is handled with the same delicateness
as a hammer to the head; and the first act ends with Johnny literally at a crossroads as he leaves
behind both
Roxy and his recently-deceased father to head out on his own and deal with the new
circumstances now defining his life. The avalanche of cliché only makes the movie all the more
predictable; there's no sense of surprise as to character fates, identities, or how the final
showdown will play out. Adding insult to injury is a nearly top-to-bottom collection of listless
performances that are devoid of even a hint of vigor; Nicholas Cage delivers his usual monotone
and droopy-eyed unenthusiastic effort, Eva Mendes serves virtually no purpose other than as
someone to be placed in harm's way at film's end, and even Peter Fonda's effort as
Mephistopheles is best described as "routine." Nevertheless, and despite all the problems,
Ghost Rider works to a point; the special effects are well-executed, and the action is
passably entertaining. Mark Steven Johnson's direction and Russell Boyd's (Master and Commander: The
Far Side of the World) cinematography both are surprisingly solid even through the
film's numerous other problems, and the ever-reliable Sam Elliot delivers the film's only engaging
performance; in fact, his story would have made for a better movie.
Ghost Rider pulls onto Blu-ray with a high quality and film-like 1080p, 2.39:1-framed
transfer. Though an earlier release in the format's history, this one holds up well and contends
with even the newest releases as a pristine example of a transfer done right. Colors are amazingly
rich and vibrant at the opening carnival sequence; dominated by bright yellows, supportive hues
also dazzle. While much of the film takes place at night or in dark locales, colors never feel
under- or over-saturated, the transfer maintaining just the right balance in every lighting condition.
Detail
is generally exceptional; Johnny's leather jackets in particular offer stunning texture in close-up
shots, and the usual suspects in outdoor scenes sparkle both during the day and at night. The
transfer also delivers an exceptional sense of depth and sports strong clarity across the entire field of
view, both near and far. Blacks aren't impeccable, but only falter in a few scenes where they veer
towards a very dark shade of gray. Flesh tones retain a natural and neutral shade. With no visible
artifacts, unsightly digital manipulation, and only a hint of banding in one or two shots, Ghost
Rider makes for a wonderful visual presentation that's completed by a thin layer of natural film
grain. This is another winning transfer from Sony.
Ghost Rider revs up on Blu-ray, spewing out two fine soundtracks from its dual exhaust
ports: one of the PCM 5.1 uncompressed variety and the other a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. It
seems somewhat superfluous to include two such tracks, and both provide a room-shaking and
completely immersive listening experience. Ghost Rider delivers a full-out surround
sound extravaganza; barely more than a few seconds go by where either an eardrum-busting
sonic assault or
subtly pleasing supportive atmospherics aren't pouring from the back channels. An amusement
park scene at the beginning of the film features the general din of the park flowing through the
soundstage and effectively placing the listener in the midst of the fun, and a gentle breeze during
an early romantic interlude between the young Johnny and Roxanne practically blows a cold chill
through the listening area. Likewise, music engulfs the soundstage, its presence focused across
the front but with strong rear-channel support. Every note is sharp and crisp, the harder rock
beats mixing well with the more aggressive sound effects, particularly the rumbling of the
motorcycles seen throughout the film. Indeed, the bikes make for the sonic highlight of the
show; whether cruising down blacktop or idling at full-stop, the unmistakable rumble is a pleasure
to the ears, the effect supported by a strong low end. Indeed, bass is solid, deep, and even
foreboding throughout the picture. Also featuring the expectedly clear and precise dialogue
reproduction, both of Ghost Rider's soundtracks deliver a practically reference-quality
listen.
Ghost Rider zooms onto Blu-ray with a healthy collection of bonus materials. The disc
contains a pair of commentary tracks; track one features Writer/Director Mark Steven Johnson
and Visual Effects Supervisor Kevin Mack. Though focused heavily on some of the gritty visual
effects requirements of the picture, the participants also speak on the usual array of commentary
fodder, including shooting locations, the film's tone and themes, the performance of the actors,
some of the tongue-in-cheek moments in the film, shooting techniques, story elements created
specifically for the movie, and much more, but much of the discussion always comes back to how
effects are
integrated into many of the scenes. Track two features Producer Gary Foster who covers a
myriad of topics, including the controversy surrounding the film's prologue, shooting locations,
assembling the cast and the involvement of Nicholas Cage and Peter Fonda in particular, the
exhausting work
of a Producer, and more.
Next up is The Making of 'Ghost Rider', a three-part documentary that chronicles the
production of the film. Spirit of Vengeance (1080i, 29:03) takes viewers to Melbourne,
Australia for a peek into the filmmaking process. The piece features a plethora of cast and crew
speaking on the history of the project, the similarities and differences from the comic, the story
developed for the film, the work of particular cast and crew members, films and styles that
influenced the look and feel of Ghost Rider, and much more. The piece offers plenty of
fascinating and raw behind-the-scenes footage intercut with the interview segments. Spirit
of Adventure (1080i, 29:56) is a continuation of the first piece, looking in-depth at the
construction of several scenes. Again, the piece combines interviews with good on-set footage
that effectively places the viewer in the midst of the production. Finally, Spirit of
Execution
(1080i, 22:55) takes an extensive look at the making of some of the film's digital effects, the
creation of various sound effects, the formation of the final audio mix, and concluding with a brief
text summary of the film's box office performance. Also included are 1080p trailers for The Messengers, Blood and Chocolate,
Premonition, and Hellboy.
An overly long, cliché-ridden disappointment of a movie, Ghost Rider is a victim of the
recent craze of translating comic book heroes to the big screen, this effort one of the unfortunate
outings destined to flop next to the giants of the genre. Also hindered by stiff acting and a
meandering script, Ghost Rider delivers only good special effects, moderately interesting
action scenes, and a solid performance from the underutilized Sam Elliot. Nevertheless, the quality
of the movie hasn't prevented Sony from going all-out for the film's Blu-ray release. Boasting
nearly reference-grade technical qualities and some lengthy extras, Ghost Rider makes for a
good demonstration disc but little more. Worth a rental for those so inclined to check the movie
out.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will bring Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance to Blu-ray this summer. The sequel to the 2007 action-adventure, this film follows the comic-book hero (Nicolas Cage, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) to Europe, where he finds ...
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