Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – Years ago, Johnny Blaze was cursed after making a deal with a demon turning him into the ‘Ghost Rider’; a vengeful spirit who consumes the souls of sinners. Now he has gone into hiding in Eastern Europe trying to control the spirit which is increasing in strength. When he is found by French priest, Moreau, he is offered the chance to have the curse removed if he can provide help and protection for a young boy, who happens to be the half-human son of the Devil. Seeing the chance for redemption, Johnny sets off to stop the devil’s men from catching up with the boy and fulfilling their plan to help the Devil take human form.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) – Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Rating: 12

Running Length: 95 mins

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, Ciarán Hinds

Genre: Comic Book, Action

REVIEW – ‘GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE’

From Neveldine/Taylor, who famously work together to direct dark and over the top movies on a low-budget like ‘Crank’ and its sequel, ‘Crank: High Voltage’, the second instalment of the ‘Ghost Rider’ series is typically dark and over the top. Thankfully, the bizarre (and silly) set pieces of their Jason Statham outings are not to be seen in ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ and they have brought a movie to the screens which is suitably ‘comic book’ in tone. Being deliberately trashy was the aim of the game and ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ has kept to its roots of the first ‘Ghost Rider’ movie which itself was trashy and fun.

While neither of the ‘Ghost Rider’ movies were particularly well received by critics or movie-goers, this second instalment isn’t as good as the first film and could probably be best described as ‘ok’. It’s a movie which is perfectly watchable but is unlikely to get many repeat viewings. Nic Cage’s usual wacky persona may appeal to younger viewers but it quickly gets annoying and doesn’t quite match the more straight-faced performances of Idris Elba and Violante Placido (who plays Nadya, the mother of the Devil’s child, Danny). While not being a fantastic film, ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ is enjoyable and never gets boring; it’s an entertaining watch and kids are bound to love it.

CONTENT – IS ‘GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The first scene is set in a monastery which is attacked by a group of men. While there is no blood or gore, they do shoot and kill several monks. These are generally people who have not been introduced to the story so kids should not be overly distressed by their deaths. However, one character who has been established (albeit briefly) is threatened by the leader of the group, is thrown to the floor and callously shot and killed.

As an anti-hero, Ghost Rider himself can be quite frightening. His head is a dark, flaming skull and the personality of the likeable Johnny Blaze is completely gone. In an animated sequence before he is shown properly, Ghost Rider is seen holding a man and sucking the life out of his mouth. In Ghost Rider’s first scene, he attacks several men who have captured Danny and his mother. These men have previously been shown to be bad as they hurt Danny by throwing him against a car and laughing about it; however, when Ghost Rider appears, they are terrified of him. One is grabbed and Ghost Rider pushes his face close to the man’s and says in a rasping whisper, ‘Hungry’. One character is dropped and as he falls to the floor, he bursts into flames and quickly turns into ash. Later, Johnny visits a man who can help him and although he is in his human form, the demon inside him constantly threatens to come out. This leads to his face constantly changing from normal to be partially demonic. The eyes in particular change and Johnny uses this to threaten the man. These moments are all in close up and the scene lasts a few minutes so this could be scary for children.

When Blackout is first introduced, which is around half-way through the movie, he fully enjoys his new powers of decay. He approaches an ambulance worker (who is an innocent man) and kills him to take the vehicle. The deaths caused by Blackout are quite gruesome as the skin turns a grey-brown colour and gradually disintegrates. The deaths are not prolonged and there is no blood but the way the people are killed is likely to be quite disturbing for kids. One character is killed when they are thrown under the wheels of a vehicle which is travelling at a high-speed. The body is seen to be hit by both sets of wheels and then there is a close up of their face which lasts for a couple of seconds as their face decays.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT – IS ‘GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE’ FOR KIDS

While the tone of ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ is very ‘comic book’ in nature, the content is likely to be too frightening for young children. We would therefore not recommend it for kids under 10 and would advise caution for those who are sensitive to violence.

• Violence:  3/5 (several action sequences throughout. Also, a young couple are implied to have been murdered when they are approached and threatened by the Devil’s men who are then seen to be driving the couple’s vehicle shortly afterwards)
• Emotional Distress: 1/5 (one established character is killed but the death is noble and not dwelt upon by the others)
• Fear Factor: 5/5 (while the violence isn’t gratuitous, the images of demonic possession and the ability to kill with mystical powers is likely to be frightening for children. There are several times when the eyes of a character change from normal to demonic and one character’s face is shown in close-up as it is consumed by fire)
• Sexual Content: 2/5 (the character of Nadya is mistaken for a prostitute by a businessman. Their exchange is mild in tone and nothing explicit is mentioned, however it may lead to questions from children who do not understand what the man wants)
• Bad Language: 3/5 (several but relatively infrequent uses of mild and moderate cursing and blasphemy. One use of a strong word towards the end of the movie at a pivotal moment)
• Dialogue: 3/5 (frequent mentions of demonic possession and making a deal with the devil. One character explains that in their past they were found by a demon while ‘choking on (my) own blood’)
• Other notes: Deals with themes of doing the right thing, fighting against a destiny which is wrong and protecting the innocent.

Words by Laura Record

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