In any kind of superhero movie, the audience would expect it to be full of action, have an in depth story that would attract the audience members and a couple of comedy scenes here and there. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, released on February 17, 2012 was really not what I expected it to be. The movie takes place in Eastern Europe a couple of years after the first movie. Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), who is still possessed by the Ghost Rider, tries to keep the Rider from coming out, but at the same time it is slowly devouring Blaze with its negative energy, basically just making Blaze a darker character than in the first movie.
Blaze then has to release the Rider because of a deal he made with Moreau (Idris Elba) that if he saves a kid named Danny (Fergus Riordan) then Blaze will be rid of the curse forever. However, Blaze did not know that the task was going to be dealing with the man that he sold his soul to, the Devil/Roarke (Ciaran Hinds) and his helper Ray Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth). Danny is a power source for Roarke who, if merged with the child, would be unstoppable if the Devil merged with the anti christ.
When the Rider makes his new debut, due to the fact that he drastically changed in the first movie, the Rider at first looks very intimidating, black skull instead of white, a more evil contaminating biker wear instead of the kick ass look he had in the first movie, spikes on his jacket and gloves, the chain not being around his back but instead being summoned by will to his hands, able to wield it with either one or both hands.
Just the overall package of this movie seemed unbalanced for a superhero that has so much potential in the movies. If movies like Ironman, The Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Wolverine, The Fantastic Four and Daredevil can be so good, why can’t the producers make this rising anti-hero rise up to the big leagues. It was an OK movie to see if you wanted some laughs, and some twists in the middle. Overall this movie had the potential to be great, but it didn’t fully rise up for the second time.
Overall Score: 7.5/10