Ghost Rider (PG-13)

Devilish Nic Cage action flick isn't on fire.

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Common Sense rates it
2
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Movie details
  • Studio: Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures
  • Directed By: Mark Steven Johnson
  • Cast: Wes Bentley, Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes
  • Running Time: 114 minutes
  • Release Date: 02/16/2007
  • Video/DVD Release Date: 06/12/2007
  • Genre: Action/adventure
  • MPAA Rating: PG-13
  • MPAA Explanation: horror violence and disturbing images.

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this comic book-based movie is aimed right at kids. (They won't care that the CGI effects aren't the best and the story is uneven.) Expect frequent references to the devil and some grisly Renaissance-style images of torture. There are motorcycle crashes (one ends in a father's death), flaming leaps, falls, and skids, which produce broken-looking bodies. The villain turns victims gray and veiny, and Ghost Rider himself becomes a burning skull. Weapons include knives, shotguns, and chains. Roxy shows cleavage, and she and Johnny kiss several times (once quite passionately). Characters drink and smoke cigarettes; language includes "s--t," "damn," "son of a bitch," and "hell."

Families can talk about the relationship between Johnny and his dad. How does Johnny's good intention lead to tragedy? Did Johnny have any other alternatives than working for the devil? How does the movie differentiate between the monstrous Johnny and the monstrous Blackheart? Why is one "good" and one "bad"? Is that easy to tell the difference between good guys and bad guys in real life? Why are so many action/superhero movies based on comic books? What's the appeal?

Message

Social Behavior:

Johnny sells his soul to the devil and regrets it; demons wreak havoc; bad guys die; cops are inept.

Consumerism:

Brief visual displays of Marlboro cigarettes and audio allusions to Johnny's favorite band, the Carpenters.

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

One scene of chaos is set in a saloon (patrons and bartender are killed by demon); in other scenes, characters smoke cigarettes (Johnny's dad smokes and has cancer; Johnny later turns down a cigarette offered by a cop); characters drink beer (though, Johnny won't drink, saying, "Alcohol gives me nightmares"), and a scene dedicated to Roxy's imbibing a full bottle of wine while waiting for Johnny to show up for a date (she appears drunk at the end).

Violence

Constant cartoonish violence, mayhem, and stunts. Johnny's father dies in a motorcycle stunt; Johnny falls off his motorcycle; the devil torments him with a "burning finger" one motorcycle jump results in a brutal crash; Blackheart kills several humans by turning their faces gray and crumbly; fights between Blackheart's gang and Johnny feature violent falls, throws against walls, and slams; as the Ghost Rider, Johnny is frequently on fire (his skull face is creepy); Ghost Rider attacks and kills a mugger, who stabs him with a knife (Caretaker stitches the wound in close-up); policemen shoot repeatedly at Ghost Rider, who absorbs bullets and rides away; Ghost Rider uses a chain to whip, capture, and throw victims (demons); Johnny fights a watery demon underwater; Johnny and Blackheart fight (lots of throwing, grunting, crawling); Blackheart throws Roxy against a wall; characters shoot Blackheart with shotgun (one shot takes off his head, whereupon he's surrounded by swooping bad souls, whom he absorbs); Ghost Rider's Stare of Penance makes bad guys scream and die.

Sex

Roxy's tops always show cleavage; Roxy and Johnny kiss several times; Mack makes a joke about "needing a woman's touch."

Language

"S--t" (used once), "son of a bitch," "damn," "hell," "ass."

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Cynthia Fuchs

When young motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze sells his soul to the devil (Peter Fonda), he thinks he's doing the right thing -- that is, saving his father, Bart (Brett Cullen), from a horrific death by cancer. But Johnny soon learns that Mephistopheles is not to be trusted, and he eventually has to fulfill his contract and become the devil's bounty hunter. This occurs after Johnny grows up to be a fiercely lean Nicolas Cage. Johnny's still doing motorcycle stunts, drawing big crowds with horrific, Evel Knievel-style crashes, but he never dies. The turning point comes when kohl-eyed son-of-the-devil Blackheart (Wes Bentley), ascends to earth in order to track down a contract that will grant him access to a bunch of bad souls. The whys and wherefores are a little confusing (they're narrated mostly by the Caretaker, who's played by Sam Elliott), but basically this leads to Johnny’s transformation into the Ghost Rider, complete with leather jacket, chains, and skull face a-blazing. Around the same time, Johnny's childhood love interest, Roxy (Eva Mendes), returns. Now a TV reporter, she arrives at one of Johnny's most outrageous stunts dressed in a white, not-quite-angelic dress. He's re-smitten, as is she, and they spend the rest of the movie trying to get back together but also not get back together, since if they do, the devil or Blackheart (or both) will surely target her.

Is it any good?

2
Like many comic book-derived movies, GHOST RIDER is corny, fiery, and outsized, but unfortunately it's not very entertaining. While the Caretaker makes lots of noise about the Ghost Rider's "legend," the movie's action and plotting are uninspired. Cage does some more Elvis impersonating, Mendes shows cleavage, and Elliott looks leathery, but none of these details helps create a sense of grand mythology. The Rider's gift/curse is his ability to assault his bad-souled victims with a Stare of Penance (he commands them to "Look into my eyes," like Dracula used to) and then make them suffer the pain of the innocents they wronged. But the visual delivery of this trick is feeble, a mostly blurry, vaguely fiery, utterly un-menacing montage of screaming, collapsing faces. This is Ghost Rider's big trick? It's hardly the stuff of legend.

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Parents and kids say

All Reviews

There are 42 reviews.

4


Posted on 04/11/08 by bloodstained_temptation Kid contributor, age 16

Pretty good!

It's alot like The Covenant, so if you like that you'll also like Ghost Rider. It has similar graphics and a fairly similar plotline- good guys, bad guys, weird powers, ect. Pretty good movie!
Age 11+
3


Posted on 10/10/07 by Deaconblues Adult contributor

Comic book entertainment

This is one of those movies you go to for pure entertainment value. If you are looking for an indepth plot,sex, or gorish violence this is not for you. This is just a bucket of popcorn and a soda, kickback and enjoy kinda movie. It does have the potential to be scary for younger viewers, but not any worse than spiderman or most other comic book movies.
2


Posted on 10/02/07 by Stanley Kid contributor, age 12

This ride is bittersweet

I was not disappointed with this movie, but I wasn't truly impressed with it either. It was a good popcorn flick, but it was very wooden (especially becuase of Nick Cage.) The special effects were good, but it seemed like the villains in this movie died too easily. Depending on whether you like this kind of movie, you may or may not enjoy this. Best thing about the movie was Eva Mendes' part. I'd give this flick a shot just for the heck of it if I were you.
Age 11+
5


Posted on 09/07/07 by melissaardenyi Adult contributor

fabulous

I have always been a fan of Nic cage and once again he shines in Ghost Rider. The story is a classic between good and evil and ends on a note that lives on in a memory. It had my full attention the entire time. I wasnt too happy with Eva Mendes and think they could have done a better job in finding a different leading lady but I do feel she did the best she could and put forth the effort. Definitely a Saturday night popcorn movie.......
4


Posted on 08/11/07 by kln8r Kid contributor, age 13

4


Posted on 08/01/07 by i love dogs Kid contributor, age 13

SWEET!

I can not beleave anyone could not like it! It was intence, a great thriller and an awsome love story! Recomended by ME!
5


Posted on 07/30/07 by KingBane Kid contributor, age 15

Great Movie!!!!!

This movie is one of the best action flicks I have ever seen! While for some people the movie may seem strange, if you like action sequences and don't mind a few gruesome deaths then this movie is perfect for you! The movie was rated PG-13 for languagew, which is minor, nothing your kid wouldn't hear in public or school. And also for Violence, this is big, if your kid gets scared easily this may not be the best movie, Blackheart has a gruesome way of dealing with people, he sucs all the life out of them leaving them shrunken grey mummies. OTher wise this is easily on of the best action films I have seen! Two thumbs up !!
1

Posted on 07/29/07 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 12

Not very good

I went and saw this movie with my dad only because I think Nicholas Cage is one of the greatest actors, but deeper into the movie it was gorey and kind of satanic. So I wouldn't really recommend it, unless you like that type of stuff.
5


Posted on 07/24/07 by soccerdking Kid contributor, age 10

awesome

this movie is definatly ok for 10+
Age 8+
5


Posted on 07/19/07 by kjkirk Adult contributor

See all 42 reviews >

Adult Reviews

There are 18 reviews.

Age 11+
3


Posted on 10/10/07 by Deaconblues Adult contributor

Comic book entertainment

This is one of those movies you go to for pure entertainment value. If you are looking for an indepth plot,sex, or gorish violence this is not for you. This is just a bucket of popcorn and a soda, kickback and enjoy kinda movie. It does have the potential to be scary for younger viewers, but not any worse than spiderman or most other comic book movies.
Age 11+
5


Posted on 09/07/07 by melissaardenyi Adult contributor

fabulous

I have always been a fan of Nic cage and once again he shines in Ghost Rider. The story is a classic between good and evil and ends on a note that lives on in a memory. It had my full attention the entire time. I wasnt too happy with Eva Mendes and think they could have done a better job in finding a different leading lady but I do feel she did the best she could and put forth the effort. Definitely a Saturday night popcorn movie.......
Age 8+
5


Posted on 07/19/07 by kjkirk Adult contributor

Age 17+
0


Posted on 07/05/07 by soonermike Adult contributor

Not even worth the rental cost

The movie is quite honestly one of those movies I wish I had my 2 hours back or how ever long it was. The plot was weak and the character development was nil. Do not recommend to anybody and especially kids.
Age 13+
3


Posted on 07/03/07 by cortright5 Adult contributor

Not ok for 12 year olds

I thought that the evil characters that are shown are pretty intense. However, they are really cheesy, but I believe some of the dialog would make me think again whether my child would be able to distinguish good from evil. It leaves mixed messages. Nicolas Cage was too old for this role and the young actress and Cage had no chemistry.
Age 13+
1


Posted on 03/22/07 by EffieMay Adult contributor

Graphic Images!

Not for young children. Frightening images of skeletal faces on fire and fanged tooth demons flashing on the screen left me feeling very unsettled. I was shocked to see parents bringing there 8-10 year old children to see this movie.
Age 11+
3

Posted on 03/15/07 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Age 11+
3


Posted on 03/10/07 by emdiski Adult contributor

Kids story line, adult special effects

I took my 10 year old to this tonight and he absolutely loved it, but I have to say some of the images were pretty scary! I think it's a bit confused as to the audience it's trying to reach. It's basically a kids' story line, over the top with it's comic-like action, so I think they kind of missed the boat by not taming it a bit to receive a PG rating. I'd be hesitant to recommend it to kids under 12 or so unless you know they won't be scared by the spooky faces and action.
Age 11+
3


Posted on 03/09/07 by DMX_Hater Adult contributor

Some violence but okay.

It's an okay film. There's some scary violence, but if you can take it, see this movie. - 7/10
Age 11+
4


Posted on 03/04/07 by G3 Adult contributor

Great Movie

See all 18 adult reviews>

Kids Reviews

There are 24 reviews.

4


Posted on 04/11/08 by bloodstained_temptation Kid contributor, age 16

Pretty good!

It's alot like The Covenant, so if you like that you'll also like Ghost Rider. It has similar graphics and a fairly similar plotline- good guys, bad guys, weird powers, ect. Pretty good movie!
2


Posted on 10/02/07 by Stanley Kid contributor, age 12

This ride is bittersweet

I was not disappointed with this movie, but I wasn't truly impressed with it either. It was a good popcorn flick, but it was very wooden (especially becuase of Nick Cage.) The special effects were good, but it seemed like the villains in this movie died too easily. Depending on whether you like this kind of movie, you may or may not enjoy this. Best thing about the movie was Eva Mendes' part. I'd give this flick a shot just for the heck of it if I were you.
4


Posted on 08/11/07 by kln8r Kid contributor, age 13

4


Posted on 08/01/07 by i love dogs Kid contributor, age 13

SWEET!

I can not beleave anyone could not like it! It was intence, a great thriller and an awsome love story! Recomended by ME!
5


Posted on 07/30/07 by KingBane Kid contributor, age 15

Great Movie!!!!!

This movie is one of the best action flicks I have ever seen! While for some people the movie may seem strange, if you like action sequences and don't mind a few gruesome deaths then this movie is perfect for you! The movie was rated PG-13 for languagew, which is minor, nothing your kid wouldn't hear in public or school. And also for Violence, this is big, if your kid gets scared easily this may not be the best movie, Blackheart has a gruesome way of dealing with people, he sucs all the life out of them leaving them shrunken grey mummies. OTher wise this is easily on of the best action films I have seen! Two thumbs up !!
1

Posted on 07/29/07 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 12

Not very good

I went and saw this movie with my dad only because I think Nicholas Cage is one of the greatest actors, but deeper into the movie it was gorey and kind of satanic. So I wouldn't really recommend it, unless you like that type of stuff.
5


Posted on 07/24/07 by soccerdking Kid contributor, age 10

awesome

this movie is definatly ok for 10+
2

Posted on 07/06/07 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 11

it was a very slow movie

it is a stupid movie i think that its appropriate for kids 10+.
3


Posted on 06/27/07 by directerdude123 Kid contributor, age 13

good movie

this movie had alot of violance including being killed or getting your soul taken away by the devil. it also got kinda confusing to.over all not for kids under 10.
5


Posted on 06/21/07 by ride2 Kid contributor, age 9

See all 24 kids reviews >
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