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Like the fiery demonic torch he plays in "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," the Oscar-winning Nicolas Cage once burned bright. But the actor's career has snuffed out with a string of bombs, now including this silly comic-book movie.
A sequel to 2007's superhero origins story, "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" follows the continuing adventures of Johnny Blaze. He's a motorcycle-riding tough guy who made a deal with the devil and uncontrollably becomes a flaming skeletal demon who can deal mega-damage to anyone around him. And when that happens, watch out. Blaze/Ghost Rider wields whiplike chains that burn everything they touch, and any objects he grabs turn into red-hot flames.
This time, Blaze is in Eastern Europe looking for a boy (Fergus Riordan) and his mother (Violante Placido), who are being hunted by the same devil ("Munich's" Ciarán Hinds) who turned Blaze into the Ghost Rider.
The hair-thin plot, co-written by "The Dark Knight" writer David S. Goyer, really is just the backdrop for a lot of chases, brutal fights and grimacing bad guys who spit before they shoot. And its presentation in 3-D, like most movies made for the third dimension, is unnecessary and sometimes distracting.
Fortunately, many of the action scenes are respectable, and the special effects are well done, even if the story drags everything down whenever a character opens his or her mouth with banal dialogue.
But the biggest disappointment of all is Cage's continued hammy acting, a trait he's turned into his trademark since starring in his string of Hollywood bombs.
Once a daring actor who liked to try on different roles with respectable directors, including his uncle Francis Ford Coppola and David Lynch ("Wild at Heart"), Cage is now just grabbing any role he can and isn't afraid to look foolish in front of audiences.
"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengance" isn't quite the flaming turd one may expect from a throwaway Nicholas Cage B-movie, but it certainly won't re-ignite his career, either.
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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Nicolas Cage returns as the flaming comic-book hero in this silly sequel that won't do anything for his career.
Where • Theaters everywhere
When • Opened Friday, Feb. 17
Rating • PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language.
Running time • 95 minutes