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 Rating: PG-13
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Matthew Long
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Let's see, how do I describe this? Well, I can date myself and say it reminds me of that Aha video "Take on Me", where the lead singer jumps into a comic book and becomes the unlikely hero, or I can say, Marvel Comics is at it again. Only this time, they didn't revive Batman, Superman or Spiderman. They took Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider straight out of their seventies comics and brought him to life—soul and all.
 With the help of Nicholas Cage and some not-so-unique special effects, they managed to produce a relatively entertaining movie. So, how does the story begin? Well, there's the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl over again, but more importantly...there's the main plot, which, believe it or not, happens to come complete with a rather thought-provoking theme: Everyone is entitled to a second chance.
This production takes a negative and turns it into a positive. Oh, and by the way, if you're going to make a contract with the devil, make sure you do it out of love. Young Johnny Blaze (Matt Long) and his father Barton (Brett Cullen) are a father and son daredevil team. Johnny is in love with the young Roxanne (Raquel Alessi), but her father does not approve of their relationship, claiming that Johnny is just a phase. Roxanne's father plans to send her away to stay with her mother. Of course Johnny and Roxanne are upset about this and plan to run away together.
Their plans are thwarted when Johnny finds a letter from his father's doctor. Apparently Johnny's dad has been keeping a secret from him. Johnny's father is dying from cancer.
Only moments later, when Johnny finds out the bad news, does the Devil (Peter Fonda) show up. He makes a deal with Johnny—Johnny's soul in exchange for curing his father of cancer. The problem is when you make a deal with the Devil it pays to read the fine print before you sign. Yes, Johnny's dad no longer has cancer, but the Devil manages to break Johnny's heart anyway.
Now, as legend has it, well over a hundred years ago, the Devil made some deals in a small town out west. The Ghost Rider, the Devil's bounty hunter, came to make good on the Devil's contract. Once he realized just how powerful the contract was, he decided to go against the Devil, hiding it somewhere safe. Yes, that's another subplot.
Oh and before I forget, there's yet another subplot. The Devil's son, Blackheart (Wes Bentley), and his merry band of demonic thugs are searching for the contract too. They too, know how powerful and valuable it is. So, back to Johnny who is now about twenty or twenty five years older (Nicholas Cage) and running his own daredevil show.
His manager, Mack, played by Donel Logue, better known for his character on the old television show, "Grounded For Life", is in a constant uphill battle, trying to keep Johnny from taking on too many stupid, life-threatening challenges. Needless to say, Mack's efforts are sadly in vain, which is probably what makes the movie so entertaining.
Let's put it this way folks, if the special effects, which aren't anything most of us haven't already seen before, don't grab your attention, the death-defying stunts probably will. The only thing Johnny doesn't crash into is his old flame, Roxanne (Eva Mendes), who is a news reporter trying to get an interview with the great Johnny Blaze.
Poor Johnny realizes his soul is at stake, and the Devil, finding this amusing, decides to take advantage of Johnny's concern by making an offer Johnny can't refuse... Find the old contract that the original Ghost Rider hid and his soul is free. So now you know how one becomes a bounty hunter for the Devil. Bet you thought you had to fill out one of those nosey job applications and take a drug test.
Aside from the not-so-unusual special effects, this movie proves to be quite entertaining. The subplots are meshed very nicely into the main story, and of course the heart-stopping stunt scenes are bound to have you sitting on the edge of your seat, if you would pardon the over-used cliche. Some scenes and visual effects are not suitable for very young children, ergo the PG-13 rating.
It's rather unfortunate that this movie has a PG-13 rating because this would be a Marvel-ous movie for the kiddies, not just the ones who are over eighteen and still have their head in a comic book. Here's a tip to live by - don’t make any deals with anyone who accepts a drop of your blood for a signature.
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