Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a 2012 American 3D supernatural superhero film based on the Marvel Comics antihero Ghost Rider. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Ghost Rider and features Nicolas Cage returning to his starring role as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider.[4][1] It is also the second film to be released under the Marvel Knights banner after 2008's Punisher: War Zone. The film was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, from a screenplay written by David S. Goyer, Scott Gimple and Seth Hoffman. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was released in theaters on February 17, 2012.
Plot
Johnny Blaze (Nicholas Cage)
was a former stunt rider who often teamed up with his father on various
stunts. When he discovered that his father's death is impending, he
makes a deal with a man named Rourke (Ciaran Hinds) who claims to be the Devil
in exchange for his soul and a curse to be set upon him. Johnny now
holds an entity called 'The Rider', a demon who punishes sinners, no
matter how petty the crimes are. However, his father dies anyway, and
having two minds fighting for control over his new powers, Johnny
attempts to stay as far away from mankind as possible and hides out
somewhere in Europe.
In the present, a drunken priest named Moreau (Idris Elba)
attempts to warn the monks at a castle that the Devil has sent out
forces to retrieve the boy and his mother hiding there, despite the head
monk's (Anthony Head)
reassurances. At that moment, mercenaries hired by Rourke breach the
castle and kill all the monks except for Moreau and the mother, Nadya (Violante Placido)
and her son Danny, who escape. Moreau chases after them, as well as the
mercenaries. Trying to protect Nadya and her son, Moreau is driven off a
cliff before he shoots the mercenaries' tires, delaying them before
they can go after the mother and son. He survives, as tree breaks his
fall. Moreau seeks out Johnny, who has been living in isolation in an
abandoned village. Johnny is at first refusing, but when Moreau promises
that the secret order he is a part of can exorcise the curse from his
body, Johnny agrees.
Nadya and Danny are found by the mercenaries, who drive them off the highway. Their leader, Ray Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth),
takes Danny after a struggle and attempts to execute Nadya. Meanwhile,
Johnny, who has been holding back the Rider for some time, unleashes
him, and transforms. He arrives just as Carrigan is about to kill Nadya
and kills two of his men. The Rider senses the great evil in Danny and
tries to kill him, but Nadya distracts him long enough for Carrigan to
knock him out with a grenade launcher and takes away Danny. Johnny wakes
up in a nearby hospital and confronts Nadya, who is also there. They
both join forces in order to save her son. Meanwhile, Rourke arrives in
Europe, and sets up a "firewall" to prevent the Rider from finding
Danny, but advises Carrigan to run, as he can still sense 'him'.
Nadya takes Johnny to one of Carrigan's contacts, and finds that he
is in an old excavating site. Johnny begins to transform, and when Nadya
confirms her son and Carrigan's location, Johnny rides there
mid-transformation. Carrigan prepares himself with an army of his men,
including a rocket launcher that could hopefully defeat Johnny. The
Rider appears and a battle ensues while Nadya frees Danny. The Rider
makes short work of the mercenaries by "riding" a Bagger 288
and kills Carrigan. As Nadya and Danny escape, the Rider catches up to
them and attempts to kill Nadya. But in Danny's preasence, the rider is
forced to turn back into Johnny Blaze, partly due to being the Devil's
son. Rourke approaches Carrigan's corpse, and resurrects him into the
being known as Blackout,
who can render a person's enviroment pitch black and decay anything he
touches. Rourke sustains some injuries due to his weak state on the
Earth and sends Blackout to retrieve Danny.
Moreau catches up to the group and leads them to a Sanctuary, where the monks, including Methodius (Christopher Lambert) ensure the protection of Danny. Before the exorcism, Moreau explains to Johnny that the Rider was once the Angel of Justice, Zarathos,
but was tricked into going into hell and was driven insane. Retaining
his sense of justice, Zarathos became a Spirit of Vengeance, though
Johnny questions if the Angel is still inside. Johnny is successfully
exorcised, but Methodius reveals his treachery and plans to kill Danny
to prevent the Devil from taking over his body. Johnny, Moreau, and
Nadya are imprisoned as Danny is about to be executed. However, Blackout
arrives and kills Methodius and the monks, retaking Danny back to
Rourke. Nadya is devastated by what has occurred, but Johnny swears to
rescue Danny, even though his powers are now gone.
Armed, the group makes their way to a coliseum, where Rourke and his
followers gather to enact the trade. Moreau distracts the followers
while Johnny tries to get Danny, but is knocked back while Moreau is
killed by Blackout. The ceremony interrupted, Rourke opts to kill Johnny
in retaliation. Danny, knowing that he has his father's abilities,
return Zarathos to Johnny, who becomes more powerful and is now able to
exist in daylight. Danny is taken again and a chase ensues between the
Rider, Nadya, Blackout, and Rourke. The Rider dispatches Blackout and
causes Rourke's vehicle to crash. The Rider confronts Rourke, who
declares that Johnny is "the worst fucking deal [he] has made", and
sends him back to Hell literally. Nadya catches up, but is dismayed by
Danny's dead body. Johnny says that he feels the Angel of Justice once
more and resurrects Danny with the angel's blue flames. Johnny then
rides off, now engulfed in blue flames, declaring that he is "The Ghost
Rider".
Cast
- Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider.
- Johnny Whitworth as Ray Carrigan/Blackout,[5] the antagonist who, at the beginning, is human. He is turned into Blackout by the Devil to complete his job. This transformation gives him the fortitude and supernatural abilities to compete with Ghost Rider.[6]
- Fergus Riordan as Danny, a young child caught up in a demonic conspiracy who ends up in the care of Johnny Blaze during his travels.[7]
- Ciarán Hinds as The Devil/Roarke, a being trying to take over the body of his son on the boy's birthday.[7][8]
- Violante Placido as Nadya, Danny's mother who helps Johnny to stop her son's father from taking over his body.[8]
- Idris Elba as Moreau, a Frenchman who joins forces with Johnny. He is the one who tells Johnny to find Danny.[9]
- Christopher Lambert as Methodius, a monk.[10][11]
- Anthony Head as Benidict, a monk at a castle where Nadya and Danny are hiding at the start of the film.
- Jacek Koman as Terrokov
- Vincent Regan as Toma Nikasevic
- Spencer Wilding as Grannik
Production
On February 9, 2007, Marvel producer Avi Arad announced the development of Ghost Rider 2 at a press event.[12] Peter Fonda had also expressed a desire to return as Mephistopheles.[13] In early December, 2007, Nicolas Cage also expressed interest to return in the lead role as Ghost Rider.[14]
Shortly after, in another interview he went on further to mention that
he would enjoy seeing a darker story, adding, "He's not eating jelly
beans anymore; he's getting drunk". He suggested that the film could do
with newly created villains.[15] It is also rumored that the sequel would feature Danny Ketch, another Marvel character who took up the Ghost Rider mantle in the comics.[16]
In a September 2008 interview, Nicolas Cage informed IGN
that Columbia have taken meetings to start a sequel. Cage noted
conversations about the story, where Ghost Rider may end up in Europe on
behalf of the church, having story elements "very much in the zeitgeist, like Da Vinci Code."[17] In February 2009, an online source stated Columbia Pictures had greenlit a sequel to Ghost Rider. Nicolas Cage was stated to reprise the lead role, whilst the studio were in search of writers.[18] On September 23, 2009, it was reported that David S. Goyer had signed on to write the script for the sequel.[19] Goyer spoke to MTV
about the sequel, stating that the story would pick up eight years
after the events of the first film and that he hopes to start filming by
2010.[4][20] The sequel is titled Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and was produced by Mike De Luca,[21] and screened with a PG-13 rating.[22] On July 14, 2010 it was confirmed that Nicolas Cage would return, and Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
were announced to direct the film, with editor Brian Berdan and
cinematographer Brandon Trost reuniting with the directors from the Crank films.[23]
Christopher Lambert underwent three months of sword training[24] and shaved his head for his role.[25]
Filming
In July 2010 Cage revealed shooting was to start in November.[26] In an interview with Superhero Hype!, Eva Mendes revealed that she would not be back as Roxanne for the sequel.[27] The film was shot in Romania and Turkey.[28] The film started principal photography in Bucharest, Romania in November 2010, using mostly local talent.[1] Principal photography was completed on January 24, 2011.[29] On March 16, 2011, it was confirmed that Johnny Whitworth would be playing the antagonist, which was also confirmed to be Blackout.[6] The film was converted in post-production to 3D.[30]
Three scenes were shot on set Castel Film. Among the places in the country chosen were Transfăgărăşan, Targu-Jiu, Hunedoara Castle and Bucharest.[31]
Filming in Turkey took place in Cappadocia, a historical region in central Turkey with exotic chimney topped rocky setting.
Reception
Reviewers who viewed an early preview screening at the December 2011 Butt-Numb-A-Thon in Austin expressed negative reaction to the film, with two attendants saying it was worse than the first Ghost Rider film, which one of them stated was made to look like The Dark Knight in comparison with the new film.[32]
Critical reception has been negative. The film currently holds a 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
based on 97 reviews with the consensus stating: "With a weak script,
uneven CG work, and a Nic Cage performance so predictably loony its no
longer amusing, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance aims to be trashy fun but ends up as plain trash."[33] On Metacritic, the film currently holds a score of 32 based on 20 reviews.[34]
However it has already shown signs of gaining a cult following amongst "die hard" fans of the comic books.
Box office
Despite its negative reviews, it opened in 3,174 theaters at #3 with $22,115,334, behind Safe House, which moved to #1 on its second weekend and The Vow the holdover of the last week, less than half of Ghost Rider's
opening weekend of $45,388,836. As of March 20th, it has gone on to
gross $49,811,229 at the domestic box office and $72,487,860 overseas
for a worldwide total of $122,299,048.
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