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"The saga of Johnny
Blaze: Once not so long ago, he was the pawn of Satan. He has
since been freed. But, for reasons he cannot yet comprehend, he
still possesses Satan-spawned strength and the searing touch of
hellfire. Whether those supernatural powers are a blessing or
a curse, he does not know. Yet."
At least that's how the Ghost
Rider comic book intro from the mid 1970's reads (sniff...sniff...I
had to sell most of my G.R. early issues years back to put food
on the table...still hurts to think about it...). The comic book
Ghost Rider starts with a hot motorcycle stuntman named Johnny
Blaze. Blaze bargained his soul with the demon Mephisto to save
his dad (Crash Simpson) from a blood-disease death. Blaze got
tricked (really screwed) by Mephisto and was bonded with the demon
Zarathos to complete the bargain. Zarathos manifests himself at
night by transforming Johnny into a 6-foot 2-inch tall (Johnny's
only 5'2"), biker-leathers clad, flaming skull, spirit of
vengeance who uses his superhuman strength, unearthly speed, extreme
hardiness, a motorcycle from hell, and soul-burning hellfire to
punish evil mofos who plague other people who have just souls.
Blaze and Zarathos internally battle for control until Blaze manages
to get Zarathos exorcised. Johnny then settles down with a wife,
kids, and his own motorcycle stunt show (which has been his dream!).
Then comes a young kid named Dan Ketch who becomes G.R. when he
touches the glowing gas cap of a mysterious motorcycle. Blaze
eventually hears about another Ghost Rider and confronts Ketch
by trying to exorcise the demon Zarathos from Ketch, but Ketch
isn't possessed by Zarathos after all. Turns out Blaze and Ketch
are long-lost brothers! Later, Blaze, after losing his wife and
kids, becomes possessed by the demon again and continues roaming
America's highways.
 This
script's version of Ghost Rider isn't much like that. Oh sure,
this G.R. does roam America's highways and does have the hellfire
kind of thing going for him, but other things are different (Yes!
I am a comic book purist.). Johnny Blaze, played by 38-year old,
6-foot 1-inch tall Nicolas Cage(nephew of Francis Ford Coppola,
Nicolas has starred in such films as Windtalkers(2002),
Con Air(1997), Peggy Sue Got Married(1986), and
the classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High(1982)), makes
a save-my-girl-from-death-when-it-was-all-my-fault plea that is
answered by the Native American deity known by many names such
as the Trickster, Coyote, Raven, or, in this movie, a 60-year
old evil guy named Ambrose Starke. Of course, Blaze is tricked
when Starke/Coyote saves Blazes girl from death by placing her
in a deep, never to gain consciousness coma. Blaze, in return,
is cursed by Starke/Coyote to transform into the Ghost Rider nightly
to wreak vengeance upon those deserving of it. Blaze/Ghost Rider
then starts searching for Starke to confront and make him a regular
human again. In his search, he comes across a Native American
chick named Nomi and her weird (ESP stuff) young daughter named
Rain. Turns out that Starke is searching for Rain and chases Blaze,
Nomi, and Rain through the Western U.S.'s deserts by sending a
few guys (Geez, the Trickster can only muster a carload or two
of Heavy dudes?) to nab Rain. Ghost Rider opts by choice(?) to
protect Rain and starts cooking the bad guys physically and mentally
with hellfire, red-hot whipping chains from hell, and his "Penance
Stare" that causes those looking into G.R.'s eyes to be judged
for past harms to others and, if applicable, makes them (and G.R.)
experience tenfold all the suffering they've done to others. Then
follows a big chase and fire action romp (wow, sounds like a corny
Van Damme martial arts thingies) that culminates when Starke finally
(he has to drive a car everywhere) catches up to Blaze and Rain
which sets up a very anti-climactic bad ending that had me saying
out loud... "What? That sucks."
Ghost Rider is slated to
start filming...well, when is anybody's guess as production has
been pushed back a couple of times starting in early 2001. The
producers listed for this one are Avi Arad(Spider-Man(2002),
X-Men(2000), Blade(1998)), Steven Paul(The Musketeer(2001),
The Million Dollar Kid(1999), Baby Geniuses(1999)),
and 63-year old actor Jon Voight (he's acted in many films such
as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider(2001), Mission: Impossible(1996),
and (squeal like a pig!) Deliverance(1972), but he's only
produced recently (Baby Geniuses 1 & 2(1999 & 2002)
and Unleashed(2002)...maybe Voight would be tempted to
play Ambrose Starke as well?). The two executive producers are
listed as David Goyer(he helped produce Blade II(2002)
& Mission to Mars(2000)) and Stephen Norrington(he
directed Blade(1998), but only helped produce The Last
Minute(2001) & Death Machine(1995)) who is also
said to be the director. The production companies are Crystal
Sky Communications(The Musketeer(2001), Baby Geniuses(1999),
The Million Dollar Kid(1999)), Marvel Entertainment(Spider-Man(2002),
X-Men(2000), and My Little Pony: The Movie(1986)...hehe),
and the prolific horror film production company Dimension Films(responsible
for such films as Mimic(1997), From Dusk Till Dawn 1,
2, & 3(1996,1999,2000), Scream 1, 2, & 3(1996-2000)).
Columbia Pictures (Sony) (picked up out of turnaround from Dimension)
is also the distributor on this one. They are all hoping to still
have a release date of sometime in 2003...Good Luck! There are
a lot of questions surrounding this script and the movie:
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1) |
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Will
the script by Goyer survive? Probably not. Rumor has it that
Most or all of this script will be re-written, possibly by
Shane Salerno(Shaft(2000). |
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2) |
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Will
it ever start filming or will it just fade away? Time will
tell on that one. |
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3) |
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When
it starts filming, Will Nicolas Cage still be on board? Good |
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Question.
How long does an actor wait around before grabbing other gigs? |
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4) |
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Can
Cage even pull off the persona of Blaze and Ghost Rider? I
don’t think so. He can play mean and brooding roles,
but I don’t believe his repertoire holds that dark air
and degree of evil that Ghost Rider exudes. Also, I’m
a comic-to-movie purist, especially on looks; Cage has too
narrow a face to play the wide, bony face of Johnny Blaze. |
 And
the questions go on and on...here’s a sum up of the whole
thing. This movie will open decent enough because of special
effects, but it will then bog way down in sales as word of mouth
spreads. The potential for an “okay, maybe I’d rent
it” special effects flick is there, but the substance for
this script, or any other script written in classic Ghost Rider
fashion, is not, and can’t be, there due to the very nature
of those classic stories. I’m a HUGE Ghost Rider fan, but
the truth is that the saga of Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider is basically
a two-bit, no name villains kind of continuing story that lends
itself only to a monthly comic book(hmm...that wasn’t too
successful either), a weekly short lived cartoon or an old time
B&W TV serial. With villains such as Aquarius, The Orb, Snake-Dance,
The Miracle Man, a myriad of motorcycle gangs, various spawn from
hell (No! Not the actual Spawn dude,), and, who could ever forget,
The Trapster! Ooohhhh! Don’t get me wrong. I do think G.R.
comics are great, especially when he briefly teamed up with the
Son of Satan, but the Ghost Rider was meant to be that secretive,
legendary, judgmental vengeance that always searches the periphery
for the villains that the big name super heroes (X-men, Fantastic
Four, Avengers, Superman, Silver Surfer, etc.) don’t have
time for. And that’s great, because there should be someone
there to catch the middle-class villains and to, in a way, give
the reader easier aspirations for their own personal journey through
life ( Man, Babosa...you’re deep. Hehe). But to make that
into a quality, big hit movie script might be impossible. This
script and it’s previous incarnations only proves that point.
This one tries to add zing into a Johnny Blaze/Dan Ketch combined
Ghost Rider story, but it still reads like a lackluster chase
story. Maybe if Ghost Rider’s old pals Angel and Iceman from
G.R.’s stint with the team of superheroes known as the Champions
came to save the script...Naah! It’d still stink. Go read
the Ghost Rider comics (First appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5!)
if you really want to know what he was all about.
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