Mini-Review: Ghost RIder

So, we went out to see a movie for Jim's birthday. There were a couple of options, but Ghost Rider seemed to appeal to everyone who came along.

In short: It's okay for a comic book movie.
The good:
The motorcycle stunts and special effects are very nice.
Sam Elliot is a real cowboy.
Nicholas Cage is very good at the whole neurotic-and-insecure-yet-possessing-hidden-inner-strength thing.
Peter Fonda makes a pretty good Mephistopheles, though the difference between Meph. and "the devil himself" could have been better explained.

The Bad:
Eva Mendes... She can act, and it looked like she was trying to find a balance between feisty and needy, but on the whole I'd say she was really only there to provide cleavage. (With the exception of maybe one scene she was in, it was pretty obvious.)

The Ugly:
Wes Bentley as "Blackheart." Bad name, worse character, and let's just ignore the actual performance and say it was doomed from the beginning.

Worst of all was the ending. I won't give it away, but the biggest problem with this movie is that there isn't anything to give away. Even surprises were predictable. I was hoping that they'd try something risky at the end, but they didn't. It just ended. The worst superhero-movie ending since Superman went back in time to fix everything.

Who's to blame? Well, since one man did the writing and directing, and since he's done this sort of thing before... I'd say that Mark Steven Johnson deserves all of my collected spite for the state of mediocre superhero movies.