The Film
There is CollegeHumor Original skit called "Nicholas Cage's Agent," which has the Oscar Award Winner signing on to bad film after bad film after bad film. Sadly many of these fictional films - Superman's Cat and A Very Pol Pot Christmas - probably would still be better career choices than Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, a sequel to arguably one of the worst comic book franchises to make it to the big screen this decade.
This time around middle-aged motorcycle star Johnny Blaze is still struggling to deal with being the devil's bounty hunter and heads to East Europe, which is convenient as it turns out he's needed there to save a young boy from the devil. In doing so he hopes to free himself from the curse, and of course this means 95 minutes of shootouts and car chases with a few strange plot twists, and plenty of time to wonder if the burning skull is causing Blaze's hairline to recede.
The Picture
That retreating hairline of Cage's is just one of the many things that the Blu-ray makes crystal clear in this 1080p 2.40:1 presentation. Visually this is a fine looking film with plenty of nice effects and even some interesting scenery. The colors are great, and the flames of Blaze in his Ghost Rider persona do light up quite well. The picture manages to highlight the worn leather of Blaze, the rotting skin of the back-from-the-dead henchman and just about everything else. This is how transfers should be on Blu-ray; too bad it is wasted on this film.
The Sound
If you shout at the devil while watching this film he's not likely to hear you. This one is loud, at times to excess. But it is an action film based on a comic book where effects matter more than story, so if it weren't loud something (besides the plot, dialog and acting) would be wrong. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 channel soundtrack rocks and rolls from beginning to end. If a comic book really came to life this is how it should sound - with the nonsensical dialog popping front and center, ambient sounds hitting as necessary and the expected sonic rush of explosions, motorcycles, flames of hell and other mayhem filling the room.
The Extras
For a film that seems like it was probably a contractual obligation or just a seeming cheap to throw together sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance offers a spirited amount of bonus materials included deleted scenes - which might as well have been left in, as this film hardly suffers from pacing. That's the least of its problems. Additionally there is a director's expanded video commentary, and both Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor seem somewhat pleased with how this came out. There is also a six part documentary on the making of the film, which clocks in at a total length at or near that of the film it covers. Truly this one is for the diehard Ghost Rider fans.
Final Thoughts
While this one looks surprising good and sounds like a comic book-based action film should sound, you know you have to question it when Christopher Lambert is one of the lower billed co-stars. But the outstanding question is whether Nic Cage had to decide between Bangkok Dangers 2 or this one.
Product Details
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