Ghost Rider Movie Review
February 19, 2007 | 9 Comments
I had low hopes going into the Ghost Rider movie, and I was neither let down, nor inspired. I would give this movie 2 out of 5 stars. The term I would use is poor.
The movie starts out solidly, but Peter Fonda’s portrayal of Mephistopheles is the lead in to the downward spiral of the film. No one should ever cast this man in a movie… ever… again.
There are also a few major holes in some of the effects and an equal number in some of Cage’s dialog. My other big criticism is in Eva Mendes’ Roxanne Simpson character. Actually… it’s the lack of character and development that I found most upsetting. This is the second billing character in the film, and undergoes absolutely no characterization! She is a reporter and she loves Johnny Blaze without any reason or background justification. Just sad…
I will say that the overall look of Ghost Rider is done perfectly. In general these effects are put together nicely. Also, the overall plot seems like it was well envisioned, but the previous complaints obfuscated that to the point if seriously degraded enjoyment.
In conclusion, I had minor hopes that this would be a good film that would excite me into wanting to read the new comic series. The reason for this is that Clayton Crain is an amazing artist. I wanted an excuse to read the book and enjoy his art, instead I’ll have to flip through the book, still uninterested in the character of Ghost Rider. Crain is currently my favorite comic artist, I’m now wishing more than ever that he had remained on Sensational Spider-Man. For reference, the cover image included in this post is from Clayton Crain.
Tags: art, artist, cage, clayton crain, comics, crain, ghost rider, johnny blaze, marvel, movie, nicolas cage, Sensational Spider-Man, spider-man
Ghost Rider Trailer
May 23, 2006 | 18 Comments
The trailer for Marvel’s new Ghost Rider movie hit the net today. I’m a serious Marvel zombie, but I have to admit, Ghost Rider does not excite me in the least. I read a few of the comics as a kid and even remember him having some cameo appearances in the animated Hulk series. I gotta say though, no one has found a way to make his character intriguing to me.
I really hope they update some of the CG effects before launch because some of the effects look outright cheesy. Nicholas Cage is usually entertaining and Eva Mendes is crazy hot so I’ll see this one in theaters come February 16, 2007, but my hopes will not be high. It appears the action will be non-stop and maybe that alone will make it worth seeing.
Note: Matt gave me the heads up on this.
Tags: cage, comic books, comics, eva mendes, ghost rider, johnny blaze, marvel, movie, movie trailer, nicholas cage, nick cage, preview, trailer
The Sentry
December 14, 2005 | 5 Comments
After enjoying the first 6 issues of The New Avengers, I decided to read the next 6 part series collected in New Avengers Volume 2: Sentry. This story arc revolves around the mystery of The Sentry. In the first six parter he was involved in helping with the event that formed the New Avengers, but his back story was completely unknown to all the characters in the Marvel Universe. In the end, Bendis had me thoroughly intrigued about this character’s history.
I then discovered Sentry had originally been created in his own six part mini series by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee in 2000. Bendis had merely resurrected this hero as an addition to New Avengers (similar to Spider-Woman and Luke Cage). So I grabbed hold of that hoping for more of the story.
The major difficulty here though is that Jenkins is no Bendis. The story was told in a way that is fragmented at best. This extremely hard to follow “origin” set Sentry up as a classic hero, older than the Fantastic Four, but forgotten by some trick. One major problem I have is that the trick doesn’t really match with the new continuity established in New Avengers. Without much surprise here, I like Bendis’ rendition better. Having heroes make heroes forget is a bad plan. Make a villain do it and I’m in. I also have some doubts about his lame sidekick and the secret serum that gives him his powers…
Anyway, the Jenkins story line does establish some interesting stuff. Sentry is arguably the most powerful hero Marvel has ever created. His powers set him up to be pretty much omnipotent. In a lot of ways this character is like DC’s Superman, but with less weaknesses. However, the man that is Sentry is somewhat humanized with a drinking problem. Another interesting tidbit here is the calming effect Sentry has on the Hulk. Apparently Sentry is able to calm Hulk and help him “evolve”. A Hulk that doesn’t mindless destroy everything certainly seems like an improvement to me…
In conclusion, Jenkins-Sentry is lame. Bendis resurrects with some success, but I still feel there is no place for the omnipotent hero in the Marvel Universe. For those interested in more about The Sentry, read his fairly detailed info on Wikipedia. As I continue reading New Avengers, maybe the guy will grow on me.
As a side note, it is revealed in the New Avengers arc that Spider Woman has some ability to emit pheromones that she can use to control people. A very cool ability for a resurrected character that is yet to see her full potential. Apparently Bendis is writing a Spider-Woman mini series that is due out this month. I guess I’ll need to read that for more of what he plans to due with this heroine…
Tags: avengers, bendis, cage, comic, comic book, comic books, comics, hulk, luke cage, marvel, marvel universe, new avengers, sentry, spider-woman, superhero, the sentry