This past Friday, Strawberry Blonde and I surprised Mojo by checking her out of school to go see Ghost Rider on opening day. Mojo, whose grades had been suffering the first part of the year, worked hard and brought D’s and F’s up to A’s and B’s in the last grading period, and seeing the movie was her reward.
While I’m at it, here’s a quickie review of the film:
Ghost Rider was a fun ride, but jarring leaps in scenes, character development, and logic were disorienting. Willing suspension of disbelief couldn’t be maintained because every few minutes I found myself asking: “Wait! Did I miss something? I don’t recall stepping out of the theatre…”
Lead by Nicholas Cage, who, as lead Johnny Blaze, wore an obvious digital facelift, the acting was excellent, hitting all the nuanced highs and lows expected during the story. Unfortunately, the jerky editing made it impossible to become emotionally involved with the characters. Whereas other superhero films of recent years—most notably Spider-Man—gripped the viewer’s heart and, in many, even elicited tears, Ghost Rider carried the same deep character development and universally heart-gripping themes, but too much of it wound up on the cutting room floor. All the poignant moments remain, but the connecting scenes, the subtle moments that make the poignant believeable and engaging were omitted.
Although an extremely fun ride for all audiences—not just comic book fans—Ghost Rider was a two and one half to three hour movie chopped to run in 1:50, which is more than apparent in the stuttering theatrical release. I’m looking forward to the restoration of numerous scenes in the director’s cut DVD and the opportunity to care about the characters.
