to those who watched it, QUESTIONS,REACTIONS, ETC.(Discussion Thread. Heavy Spoilers)

[FlameHead]

Just because it makes a lot of money doesn't mean it's good.quote]

True - but as I said, I've been monitoring this GR section of SHH for the last 2 years so I know who the die-hard GR fans are. When one of those guys writes in and rips the movie apart then thats bad. I haven't seen one yet.

I have however seen a lot of newbies who's first post was "GR really sucked!". In my humble opinion they should be doing that on one of the other boards and not the one dedicated to genuine GR fans.

To quote from a movie that I can't remember...... "I bet you're the type of guy that dances in front of a person in a wheelchair!"

I consider myself a die hard and I'll be chiming in very soon. There's so much for me to talk about but, my mod duties are eating time right now.

I'll get to it. I just had to reply to this because I completely agree with what you're saying.

I'll be back...

 

[samsnee]

Just watched this last night. I have to give a solid C-

The good:

- The guy playing young JB. Played it a lot better than Nic Cage
- Caretaker. The scene with the 2 GR's riding together was great
- Peter Fonda. Probably a paycheck role, but delivered strongly

The bad:

- The two leads. Nic Cage played him too quirky for my tastes. He likes jelly beans and the Carpenters? Okkkkay. And Eva Mendes is decent eye candy, but her acting made me cringe in some scenes
- Blackheart and crew... basically, the henchmen didn't really fight so much as stand there and get vaporized.
- The ending... We get an awesome scene with GR riding with Slade, and he just says 'Thanks and good luck'? Blackheart can force GR to change back to JB earlier, but not in the final confrontation? Mephisto says he'll take JB's power away now, but JB says no, and that's that? There were just two many plotholes for my taste.

I don't disagree that Mark Steven Johnson is a comic books fan, but after this and DD, he needs to stick to appreciating them and not directing them.

 

[Savage]

What's wrong with liking Jelly Beans and the Carpenters? Is it the combination of both or the individual subjects or what? I just find that a funny negative is all. Especially since I like jelly beans and the carpenters and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that do as well...And that karate chimp WAS hilarious.

 

[Spidey 2007]

What's wrong with liking Jelly Beans and the Carpenters? Is it the combination of both or the individual subjects or what? I just find that a funny negative is all. Especially since I like jelly beans and the carpenters and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that do as well...And that karate chimp WAS hilarious.

absolutley... teh karate chimp was so funny, along with cages retarted laugh, you cant get any funnier than that scene! pure genious. lol

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

And that karate chimp WAS hilarious.

 

[samsnee]

Nothing wrong with it all. I just thought those two elements didn't do anything to serve the story. I guess you can say it was to show that JB was a little eccentric, but it was too cheap a laugh for me. Not that I need all my superheroes to be depressed and stoic like Batman, but I had thought this character would be a little more darker than what was portrayed on film.

 

[Tempest19]

Where they heck did they get that video? Lol.

 

[deemar325]

Im not going to agree with you guys. Im very picky with these kind of films, u must understand firstly its a comic book movie, just imagine how hard it must of been to squeez so much history under a time constraint and budget. Mark Steven Johnson isnt the best director, i even criticised him for Daredevil But after seeing this film, im praising him for doing such a great job.

What most ppl dont understand is that these kind of films should be respected for what they are, our favourite comic book heros come to life. Not A grand Masterpeice drama with action scenes on the side. Mark really did a great job bringing humor into the film, nicholas didnt do and emmy award winning performance but i cant remember a comic book film, in which an actor was nominateed for it. But thats beside my point.

8/10 only thing it lacked was a better fight scene at the end. And more history on the ghost rider, i was confused cause mark steven used a bit of the phantom rider in it which i lost track of lol but yeah. Oh and Mephisto needed more screen time he was a bit irratating at the start when they rushed the death and agreement but yeah.

But this was a great beginning, and great to make a sequal off with Vengeance or Zarathos. That would make me happy to see in the next film.

Sniff..damn I smell a plant.


Just because it's a comicbook movie doesn't mean it shouldn't be a good movie with a well thought out plot and solid acting. The Incredibles was a G-rated kiddie flick, but guess what? It was an excellent film, it was goofy and funny, yet somehow the guys who made the movie took the time to write a good film first with solid characters with a clever plot. Ghost Rider was schlock filming the lowest denominator.

Even if it wasn't a R-rated film with oscar worthy performances, it still should have a well thought out plot and a ending that left you wanting more. What we got was a half ass story, with very little 'story logic' staid stock bad guys, bland acting (Except Cage he was decent.) half-assed cgi, lazy fight scenes and T.V. quality main villian in BlackHeart.

 

[incognito rider]

Another scene I found to be completely pointless was when Ghost Rider rode up the scyscraper only to ride back down. It looked great but really had no true purpose.

If you look closely, Abigor shoots up the skyscraper ahead of him. That, and losing the cops chasing him, was the point.

And what goes up......

 

[Lazlo Panaflex]

I'm not a GR fan but the film was enjoyable, I put it among Daredevil, Blade, Fantastic Four and the Punisher as a decent Marvel movie.

Eva Mendes was so hot that I always stared at her cleavage, and the Ghost Rider sequences were cool.

 

[Corinthian™]

Crappy one liner peice of crap

 

[Heretic]

I would like to say that YES, I expected this movie to be worthy of an Academy Award. Obviously no comic film will ever win one (unless opinions radically change, which this movie only hurt the odds of) but I truly feel that American Splendor was robbed...Ghost World deserved better...Crumb won for documentary, but it should have won for best picture (not a comic movie, but about a comic creator)...History Of Violence deserved better...even Road To Perdition deserved more respect than it got (though its not as good as any of the others I mentioned). Comic book films are reaching a point where they ARE worthy of winning awards. X Men boasts 3 Academy Award winners in its cast! If a movie is a comedy (like say, Ant Man is supposed to be, or a Bone animated movie) then I want them to drop dead funny. I want them good enough to be nominated, even though they wont be. If its going to be a drama, then I expect it to be on the level of Sin City or Batman Begins. If it's a popcorn flick then theres no reason why we shouldnt shoot for it to be as intelligent and well thought out as Spider-Man. We have seen that greatness can be made from our amazing source material...so I dont want to settle for less.

 

[Toby_Temple]

Here's what I think:

They should have made the storyline better. A little more background on Roxanne would be good. I also think Black Heart was lame. He was a freaking idiot. No wonder Mephistopheles hates him. They should have also made the fight scenes more entertaining. The stunts were great but I think the crowd prefered a great fight scene. Those three nephilims were clearly outmatched. They were too easy.

But the movie gave me an experience I'd never had before. It was like watching a legit horror and comedy film in one.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

If you thought this horror/irony/comedy flick was good you would definitely like:

Dead Alive (Brain Dead in Europe) directed by none other than Peter Jackson. I didnt know whether to laugh or throw up. This is by far the most goriest, bloodiest, (and quite funny too) film I have ever seen.

 

[Toby_Temple]

^ Never heard of it.........sorry

 

[Fried Gold]

The argument that we 'should appreciate the movie for what it is' is one that is tired and stale. Just because it's a comic book movie, it doesn't necessarily follow that quality should be sacrificed.

 

[Toby_Temple]

I agree that quality should not be sacrificed. But I'm basing my comment on how I felt when I watch the movie. I was expecting a new marvel comic- based action movie rather than a drama. It met my expectations and more. Why? There was good humor and scenes that make the ladies in the theatre scream. If it was Spider Man 3 I would have expected more.

 

[Ultimate Movie-Man]

i read alot of comics when i was a kid. seeing them come to life on the screeen is awesome. i like it for that reason. however, i was disappointed in Cage's performance in some areas. not all. overall i would have to give this a grade of C. now that they are past the introduction/creation of i hope that 2 is much better.

Another person who thinks there'll be a sequel

[borat] NICE!!! [/borat]

 

[TripXyDE]

If you thought this horror/irony/comedy flick was good you would definitely like:

Dead Alive (Brain Dead in Europe) directed by none other than Peter Jackson. I didnt know whether to laugh or throw up. This is by far the most goriest, bloodiest, (and quite funny too) film I have ever seen.

i'm sorry dude but you cant compare GHOST RIDER to DEAD ALIVE
DEAD ALIVE was one of Peter Jackson's EARLY works... almost an amateur work.
it's excusable for DEAD ALIVE to be campy & weird because it is not packaged to be something for everybody.

GHOST RIDER is a work that has spent MILLIONS for it, & it should have all the time & the control to ENSURE that this one has no loopholes

 

[Rac]

Where they heck did they get that video? Lol.

From the net. I remember seeing it back in 2002 or 2003.

 

[hellfiremaster]

True - but as I said, I've been monitoring this GR section of SHH for the last 2 years so I know who the die-hard GR fans are. When one of those guys writes in and rips the movie apart then thats bad. I haven't seen one yet.

I have however seen a lot of newbies who's first post was "GR really sucked!". In my humble opinion they should be doing that on one of the other boards and not the one dedicated to genuine GR fans.

To quote from a movie that I can't remember...... "I bet you're the type of guy that dances in front of a person in a wheelchair!"

Let me tell you, I am a die hard fan, and yes I have ripped the movie. Just because I cannot be a "fanboy" and post 50x a day for x years, doesn't make me less of a "fan". The fact is when you are over 35 bulletin board arguing just doesn't take precedence in my life.

I will say this.. I think MSJ's interaction with the fans here IS the high lite of the movie. I think he went over and beyond what he had or should have done. I think it shows he was "aware" of the fan base. BUT that alone doesn't give him a free pass to be used against negative reviews or making a bad movie. Obviously some things IMHO, and many others, didn't work. There was so much cheese, I felt like I was at a government soup kitchen. I might not like Bently's Blackheart, but I understood it. He was pompous and arrogant and came across that way. But to some it came across as bad acting, was it? Hard to tell, I think the lines he was given, was his curse. The pg rating again I think dumbed alot of the dialog down to the point of camp. Sony might have been the driving force to the pg-13 rating. But it was a sacrifice of quality over money.
The fight scenes, to short. But why? Maybe this was indicative of the allowed budget. But it hurt the film. Alot of things hurt the film. Still this is not a pg-13 character. Remove the camp and humor, what do you replace it with? Hopefully not more "yeehaws" from GR. If this is MSJ's understanding or vision of the character, he didn't read much, or maybe enough. Someone recently posted the no penance panel from a Vengeance issue, thats Ghost Rider. The panel from the Blaze era where Spiderman protects the guy from GR, thats GR. GR is dark. When he leaves Blackout on top of the tower to die from the sun, thats GR. All the new issues of GR, are DARK. Ennis didn't write a panel for his Road to damnation mini showing GR taking a cream pie to the kisser, because it DOESN'T happen in GR. You want camp, rent the Batman series ala 1966.

HFM

 

[Heretic]

I agree that quality should not be sacrificed. But I'm basing my comment on how I felt when I watch the movie. I was expecting a new marvel comic- based action movie rather than a drama. It met my expectations and more. Why? There was good humor and scenes that make the ladies in the theatre scream. If it was Spider Man 3 I would have expected more.

You were expecting a new marvel comic-based action movie and got what you wanted from it

If it was Spider-Man 3 you would have expected more.

Um...Spider-Man 3 is a new Marvel comic-based action movie.

You just proved my point. You're willing to overlook quality just because it's not a top tier character. Otherwise there is no reason at all for you to expect more from Spider-Man 3

 

[FlameHead]

I'm in the camp of folks who really enjoy this movie. I'm also a huge fan of the character. People are being way to hard on this flick and I really don't understand why... unless, it's solely because they can't let go of their own wishes for this movie.

Me, I just sat back, let my mind go and enjoyed the ride.

If you want details on what I thought, I made a post today in the "ENJOYED" thread: http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11232716&postcount=112

 

[Nasty-B]

Sorry to all who enjoyed this flick, but I seriously considered walking out of this movie about 3/4ths of the way through. I think the urge hit when GR whistled for his bike. Without all of the big name stars and slightly respectable FXs, I would have mistaken this for a B-Movie deserving of MYstery Science Theater 3000.
Here's what I didn't like:
1. The dialogue was horrible. Most of the lines during the fight scenes sounded like something out of an old He-Man Cartoon- "you think you can defeat me," "I don't think so," "you haven't seen the last of me," etc.
2. The opening scene dealing with Blaze and Roxanne was so corny. It was worse than your average teen drama.
3. As many have already pointed out, the villains were really no challenge for GR. There was never any point in the movie where I was worried about the protagonist. They needed to establish some kind of weakness for GR, something other than his love for Roxanne. The final conflict was just so anti-climatic.
4. There were way too many plot holes, loose ends and things that just plain didn't make sense. Why did the knife that that thug stabbed him with cause a wound to his human form, but getting hit by a truck didn't even phase him? Why did the Cowboy GR just ride with him to the monastary? Why did Mephisto kill Blaze's dad anyway- he already had what he wanted?
5. Cage had on a body suit or CGI torso when they showed him after showering. That's just so sad.
So was there anything I liked?
1. Well, as a native Texan, I thought it was pretty amusing to see Australia substituting for the lone star state. Although both lands have desert/savana environments, the Aussie flora and red sand made it pretty glaringly obvious where it was filmed. I know this isn't really a positive thing, but I found it amusing. I also got a kick out of hearing the Aussie extras attempting Texas accents.
2. A lot of the FX were actually pretty good. I thought GR at least looked cool.

 

[Toby_Temple]

You were expecting a new marvel comic-based action movie and got what you wanted from it

If it was Spider-Man 3 you would have expected more.

Um...Spider-Man 3 is a new Marvel comic-based action movie.

Spider-Man is already on its third installment. Ghost Rider is in its first. The directors already know what the audience really loved about the film after the first and second Spider-Man movies.

You just proved my point. You're willing to overlook quality just because it's not a top tier character. Otherwise there is no reason at all for you to expect more from Spider-Man 3

No you did not. I expected Ghost Rider to be not as good as Spider-Man just for the fact that it involves more complex cgi effects than the previous 2 Spidey movies. I'm expecting more on Spider-Man 3 coz it requires more complex cgi just for Sand Man and the black costume. Another is that I'm more of a fan of Spider-Man than Ghost Rider. So in short, your assumptions are way off base.