Rating of
1/4
Over the top cinematic junk that can't be recycled
sreekirch - wrote on 03/04/12
Neveldine/Taylor has proved before in Crank that action movies can be over the top. In Spirit of Vengeance they have once again proved that action can be over the top. The same kind of pattern where guns and launchers speak louder than dialogs and script is evidenced. Ghost rider 2 looks like a sub dued sequel that was looking for a story since 2007 when the first part came. Joining hands with screenwriters Scott gimple and Seth Hofmann is the famous David S Goyer (batman begins and the dark knight). Mr Goyer took up in writing the script part of the franchise. By the way he totally lost his name by creating this movie. When I consider the flow of the plot it was very weak. The scenes were not upto the mark and the total script is just the vengeance. But the title had given me that satisfaction. So the whole plot is find the boy, save him from bad and take vengeance. Marvel comics now called marvel knights has given a weak comic book through which Nic Cage enacts to be Johnny Blaze. The name is really great but the character is rotten. Some par timers like thugs holding launchers and big guns are enforced to develop action in the scene and they do not contribute anything to the plot. Even though spirit of vengeance is just about 94 minutes, it is hardly interesting and easily boring and cumbersome.
Somewhere in Eastern Europe is a man in a bike who reaches a temple. As he removes his helmet we can recognize that he is not the one we are waiting for. He tries to save a boy and a woman from some thugs. She does not believe him and runs away. The chase begins and sooner she realizes that he is here to protect her. The man who marginally escaped the shootout scene meets Johnny blaze/ rider (Nic Cage) dreaming about his past. He offers him a choice that he must save the boy so that his curse can be removed once for all. Johnny now is accepting the deal and turns to become a rider. His bike is still parked in the garage and he has some adjustments made to it. During the night it breathes fire and the rider reaches the point where boy and his mother are kept. Rider arrives manages to fight for a while and loses focus suddenly. In the next scene he is in a hospital flirting with a nurse. He escapes from there and takes some valium pills to control his emotions. The devil arrives and removes the connection that makes rider connect with the boy’s location. But luckily his mother knows a person who can help them find the boy. Johnny finds him and gets the location. Another fight out scene and rider saves the boy. They drop him in a safe temple. But to the deal now Johnny gets what he wants. He is finally free. The boy gets kidnapped by devil. Now Johnny and his friends must save the boy before dawn. Otherwise his soul would be unleashed to save another bad person.
With the total runtime of 90 minutes, Spirit of Vengeance looked too clumsy and too slow because it had no interesting plot. The first thirty brings us to some over the top action and some silly scenes to drag the plot. The next thirty slowly brings the plot. The final thirty loses its focus and the climax appeared too clichéd. The pre climax portion was best of the whole as it had some clever genetic related dialogs and action supposed. The climax proved itself to be cinematic that lacks any logic and becomes too hard to digest the fact that science has lost its principles. But I can guarantee that plot has wrapped up completely without any loop holes. When speaking about screenwriting I was totally shocked. David Goyer should have done a better role to reprise his name. Probably The Dark Knight Rises should bring his name back. For example: Johnny tries to flirt with the nurse in hospital. This scene was just added to give humor. Here no one thinks that Johnny is in real need of a girl because he is inside a rider. In another scene Johnny explains the boy that he can throw flame by using a chain. The demonstration is funny to digest and hard to appreciate. Is this David Goyer’s humor or showing some hard emotional scenes like that of batman begins is what one will expect from a talented screenwriter. Looks like Mr. Goyer has not been paid much.
Character development is weak. The characters are so forcefully added that we cannot feel pity for them expect the little boy. Johnny Blaze / Rider needed a strong emotional role rather than funny and humorous scenes. The devil looked clichéd and too cartoonish for the whole movie. Nic Cage looked like a rotten tomato. His acting was never interesting and at this age with so much experience from films he acted, he is a damp squib. He was the best in Face Off. But then afterwards he turned out to be slowly losing interest in acting. For one reason Rider is a skull burning with fire and speaking hardly any language that understandable. Since Nic Cage looked like a rotten skinned person is that mean to make him the Rider? Fergus Riordan played the young kid who was the best in the movie. He was so appreciable when he rotates the car steering and trips down the car. He was at best in the pre climax portion. Ciaran Hinds looked another sluggish character. His looks make him the devil, but not in terms of action and body language. Violante Placido can do better by playing a bond girl rather than a caring mother in this one. Idris Elba had a strong opening but lacks in terms of character development and fizzles out soon. Christopher Lambert as mentioned in stats of Wikipedia that he took three years for sword training and he just holds a sword in this one. This is a perfect example of wastage of character. Johnny Witworth can prove better himself by taking a pleasant character. He is so clichéd in expressions and manages to say the dialogs with ease and struggle.
Having watched in 3D the visual effects were hardly engaging. Rider’s entrance was the best of everything. This scene was shot with best camera work and some appreciable cinematography and I can consider that his entrance was so cool. CGI was purely cheap and looked like a post converted dark and clumsy one. Rider with the chain and fire breathing bike that comes running towards him are slightly clap worthy. I can say finally that 2D is best preferred. Even that can be rented. The lighting had a problem. It was dark and looked like a copycat of harry potter and the half blood prince. After a dark experience with harry potter and half blood prince now ghost rider takes a much better position to waste the 3D effect.
Neveldine/Taylor thought about giving a popcorn entertainer with some interesting action scenes with rider’s presence. But due to poor script and bad post production work he fails to deliver the goods. There is good and bad in everyone as quoted in the movie. The good is that it can earn money for a while and the bad is there won’t be any other ghost rider movies in future. If so one comes it may not attract viewers because it has already been sent to trash and there is no chance for recycling. Hell Yes ! Spirit of vengeance is a junk.
