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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

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For the Marvel Comics character, see Spirit of Vengeance (comics).

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNeveldine/Taylor
Screenplay by
Story byDavid S. Goyer
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBrandon Trost
Edited byBrian Berdan
Music byDavid Sardy
Production
companies
Distributed byColumbia Pictures[2] (through Sony Pictures Releasing[4])
Release dates
  • December 11, 2011 (2011-12-11) (Butt-Numb-A-Thon)
  • February 17, 2012 (2012-02-17) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes[5]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish[2]
Budget$57–75 million[4][6]
Box office$132.6 million[4]

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics antihero Ghost Rider. It is a standalone sequel to the 2007 film Ghost Rider[7] and features Nicolas Cage reprising his role as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider[8] with supporting roles portrayed by Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido, Johnny Whitworth, Christopher Lambert, and Idris Elba. The film was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, from a screenplay written by Scott M. Gimple, Seth Hoffman, and David S. Goyer. Released publicly for one night on December 11, 2011, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance had its wide commercial release on February 17, 2012 in 2D and 3D.

The film experienced worse critical reception than the first film, with criticism being aimed towards the script, CGI, and acting.[9] The film grossed more than $132 million, against its $57-75 million production budget.[4]

Nicolas Cage stated that he was "done" with the Ghost Rider films and a planned sequel was cancelled. The film rights to the character were reverted back to Marvel Studios shortly thereafter,[10] and the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Plot

In rural Romania, an alcoholic monk named Moreau warns a nearby monastery about an impending ambush by Roark's forces. They seek to kidnap a young boy named Danny and perform a ceremony on him that will allow the aging Roark to transfer himself into Danny's body. A firefight ensues, and Danny is able to escape with his mother Nadya. Moreau decides to seek out Johnny Blaze, who is currently in hiding to prevent the Rider from running amok. Moreau offers to restore Johnny's soul and remove the Ghost Rider's curse in exchange for the Rider's help finding Danny.

Nadya and Danny are captured by Nadya's former boyfriend, Ray Carrigan. He is about to execute Nadya when the Ghost Rider appears, killing several of Carrigan's men. Nadya distracts the Ghost Rider, who is shot with grenades. Nadya escapes but Danny is recaptured. Carrigan informs Roark about the Rider's interference and Roark places a spell on Danny to stop the Rider from tracking him. Meanwhile, Blaze awakens in a hospital and leaves, following Nadya and convincing her to accept his help. Nadya explains that she made a deal with Roark as well, and that Danny is Roark's son.

That night, Nadya and Johnny interrogate a contact of Carrigan's and Johnny takes off to find Carrigan. The Rider emerges and takes on Carrigan's men, using an empowered mining machine to destroy their hideout and mortally wound Carrigan. The Rider turns on Nadya and attempts to use the Penance Stare on her but Danny is able to stop him. Roark finds Carrigan nearly dead and revives him, granting him the ability to decay anything he touches. Johnny and Nadya bring Danny to the monastery, where Moreau explains that the Ghost Rider is an angel named Zarathos who was tortured and driven insane in Hell. Moreau tells Johnny that he can exorcise the spirit if Johnny tells a secret only he knows. Johnny confesses that his deal with Roark was a selfish one: His father had accepted his cancer and was ready to die, but Johnny could not accept it. Moreau exorcises the spirit, and Johnny becomes human again. The head monk Methodius tries to kill Danny but Carrigan intervenes, killing the monks and recapturing Danny.

The ritual to transfer Roark into Danny's body begins while Johnny, Nadya, and Moreau secretly infiltrate the ceremony. Carrigan kills Moreau while Danny returns the Ghost Rider to Johnny. Danny grants the Rider the ability to stay in Rider form even in broad daylight, the Rider then pursues Roark. The Rider kills Carrigan and flips the car that Roark and Danny are in before using his chain to hurl Roark back to Hell. With Roark defeated, Zarathos regains his sanity and is restored to his previous incarnation as the Spirit of Justice. Channeling the blue flame of Zarathos, Johnny revives Danny. As the film ends, Johnny is seen riding down the road in Rider form, but the flames on his bike and body are now blue.

Cast

  • Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider: A motorcycle stunt man who sold his soul to the devil to save his father from cancer, and became the devil's servant called the Spirit of Vengeance, a fiery spirit that feeds on the evil of its victims.
    • Ionut Cristian Lefter as Young Johnny Blaze. Matt Long, who portrayed the character in the first film was originally set to reprise the role, but was eventually replaced by Lefter.
  • Johnny Whitworth as Ray Carrigan / Blackout:[11] A mercenary, drug dealer, and gun runner turned into Blackout by the devil to complete his job. This transformation gives him the fortitude and supernatural abilities to compete with Ghost Rider.[12] Carrigan's powers are completely unlike those of the comic book character; writers admitted that the only aspect of Blackout they used in designing the movie version was his appearance.[13]
  • Fergus Riordan as Danny Ketch: A young child caught up in a demonic conspiracy who ends up in the care of Johnny Blaze during his travels.
  • Ciarán Hinds as Mephistopheles "Mephisto" / Roarke: The demon who transformed Johnny Blaze into the Ghost Rider. Mephisto has fathered a child named Danny, and has plans for the boy.[14] Peter Fonda, who portrayed the character in the first film, had previously expressed interest in reprising the role.[15]
  • Violante Placido as Nadya Ketch: Danny's mother and Ray's ex-girlfriend who helps Johnny to stop Mephisto from taking over Danny's body.[14]
  • Idris Elba as Moreau: A French member of a secret religious organization who joins forces with Johnny. He is the one who tells Johnny to find Danny.[16] Moreau is an original character, not based on an existing comic character.[17]
  • Christopher Lambert as Methodius, a monk.[18][19]
  • Anthony Head as Benedict: A senior monk at the castle where Nadya and Danny are hiding at the start of the film.
  • Jacek Koman as Terrokov
  • Vincent Regan as Toma Nikasevic: An arms dealer who works with Carrigan.
  • Spencer Wilding as Grannik

Production

This story picks up eight years after the first film. You don't have to have seen the first film. It doesn't contradict anything that happened in the first film, but we're pretending that our audience hasn't seen the first film. It's as if you took that same character where things ended in the first film and then picked it up eight years later—he's just in a much darker, existential place.

—David S. Goyer about the relationship between the two Ghost Rider films.[20]

Development

A special prop: The Bagger 288, the heaviest land vehicle in the world from 1978–1995.

Marvel producer Avi Arad announced the development of Ghost Rider 2 at a press event in February 2007.[21] Peter Fonda had also expressed a desire to return as Mephistopheles.[22] In early December, Nicolas Cage also expressed interest to return in the lead role as Ghost Rider.[23] Shortly after, in another interview he went on further to mention that he would enjoy seeing a darker story and suggested that the film could do with newly created villains.[24] It was also rumored that the sequel would feature Danny Ketch, another Marvel character who took up the Ghost Rider mantle in the comics.[25] In a September 2008 interview, Cage informed IGN that Columbia had 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".[26] 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, while the studio were in search of writers.[27] David S. Goyer signed on to write the script for the sequel.[28] 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.[20][29] The budget for "Spirit of Vengeance" was considerably lower than the first film, it cost an estimated $57-75 million to make, compared to the original film's $110 million price tag.[4][6]

Casting

Nicolas Cage returned to his role, and Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor were confirmed to direct the film, with editor Brian Berdan and cinematographer Brandon Trost reuniting with the directors from the Crank films.[30] Taylor said this version of Ghost Rider was darker than the first film, and will be based on the miniseries Ghost Rider: Road to Damnation by Garth Ennis and Clayton Crain.[31] Christopher Lambert underwent three months of sword training[32] and shaved his head for his role.[33] Johnny Whitworth was cast as the villain Blackout.[12]

Filming

Cage revealed shooting was to start in November.[34] Eva Mendes did not return as Roxanne for the sequel.[35] The film was shot in Romania and Turkey.[36] The film started principal photography in Sibiu, Romania in November 2010, using mostly local talent.[8] Principal photography was completed on January 24, 2011.[37] The film was shot in 2D and converted in post-production to 3D.[38]

Three scenes were shot on set Castel Film Romania. Among the places in the country chosen were Transfăgărăşan, Targu-Jiu, Hunedoara Castle and Bucharest.[39]

Filming in Turkey took place in Cappadocia, a historical region in central Turkey with exotic chimney-topped rocky setting. The scene with the Greco-Roman theatre was filmed in Pamukkale where the ancient Greek (of the Seleucid Empire) city of Hierapolis once stood. The motorcycle used by Cage was a Yamaha VMAX.[31]

Marketing

Yamaha VMax's supernatural transformed Hellcycle displayed at the 2011 San Diego Comic-con.

The producers employed a mix of targeted traditional advertising and television appearances, as well aggressive social media marketing. The directing team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, known for the Crank films were already popular with the young male demographic, and further fueled early interest in the film with a presentation at the 2010 San Diego Comic-con. The executive pointed out that the marketing campaign has used star Nicolas Cage sparingly in U.S. TV commercials. Cage appeared on Saturday Night Live and heavily promoted the film in Europe but he plays a secondary role to the film's effects and imagery, which one executive said made the marketing campaign seem more like it was for a video game.[40]

Reception

Box office

The film opened in 3,174 theaters at #3, with North American box office receipts of $22.1 million, behind Safe House, which moved to #1 on its second weekend. The Vow, the holdover from the previous week, made less than half of Ghost Rider's opening weekend of $45.4 million. It went on to gross $51.8 million at the U.S. box office and $80.8 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $132.6 million.[4]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has an approval rating of 19%, based on 120 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The website's consensus reads: "With a weak script, uneven CG work, and a Nic Cage performance so predictably loony it's no longer amusing, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance aims to be trashy fun but ends up as plain trash".[9] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "Generally unfavorable reviews".[41] Audiences polled by Cinemascore gave the film a "C+" rating on a scale from A to F, lower than the first film "B".[42]

Reviewers who viewed an early preview screening at the December 2011 Butt-Numb-A-Thon in Austin expressed negative reactions to the film. Two attendees said it was worse than the first Ghost Rider film, and one said that the sequel makes the first film "look like The Dark Knight" by comparison.[43]

IGN reviewer Scott Collura gave the movie four out of five stars, saying it "is a movie you'll either love or hate". He commends the film for bringing the cartoonish insanity of the Crank movies to the insane concept of Ghost Rider.[44] Andrew Barker of Variety called it a marginal improvement on the first film but said "the picture is still much too rickety, slapdash and surprisingly dull to qualify as a good barrel-bottom pleasure."[45] Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader notes that this is the first time directors Neveldine and Taylor have directed a script they didn't write, "and the superhero plot often seems to hamper their imaginations" but says the film "doesn't lack for crazy charm", praising Cage and Hinds for their admittedly weird performances.[46]

Marc Savlov from The Austin Chronicle awarded the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, writing: "Cage appears to find his role as this second-tier Marvel Comics antihero alternately silly, tremendously fun, and the means to a decent paycheck for not all that much work." Savlov also criticized the film's use of 3D as being "a few shots of flaming motorcycle parts comin' at ya, but little else."[47] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club welcomed Idris Elba's role as the alcoholic priest Moreau, but criticized the film for "squandering even more potential" and that it fails to achieve the "go-for-broke energy of superior trash."[48] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "a dreadful mess", and "a dishwater dull sequel to the hellishly bad 2007 original", and said he'd never seen worse 3D.[49]

Accolades

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards:[50] Worst Actor (Nicolas Cage; also for Seeking Justice) and Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.

Future

Shortly after the film's release, directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor discussed producing a potential Ghost Rider 3, and having someone else direct it.[51] Neveldine said that Cage had expressed interest in appearing in another Ghost Rider film, hinting that the film could move forward provided that Spirit of Vengeance was a success: "I know Nic wants to do it, he's very pumped about it ... We'll just have to see how well [this] does."[52][53] When Cage was asked about a possible third installment, he said that it could happen, but without his involvement,[54] later officially clarifying that he was done with his role and expressed interest to see female Ghost Rider in the film.[55]

The film rights to Ghost Rider reverted to Marvel Studios in 2013, but there were no immediate plans to make another Ghost Rider film.[56][57] In 2016, the Robbie Reyes incarnation of the character appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe through the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where he is portrayed by Gabriel Luna.[58]

References

  1. ^ "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". AllMovie. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  3. ^ "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". Variety. February 17, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  5. ^ "GHOST RIDER – SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. January 10, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Leaner Budget for 'Ghost Rider 2' Gets Greenlight from Sony and Hyde Park". The Wrap. October 10, 2010. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  7. ^ Stewart, Andrew (February 12, 1012). "'Ghost Rider' expected to spark B.O." Variety. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance' Set for February 17, 2012". SuperheroHype.com. CraveOnline. September 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved August 8, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  10. ^ Shaw-Williams, Hannah (May 6, 2013). "'Ghost Rider' Movie Rights Return to Marvel - Will We See a Reboot Soon?". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  11. ^ Douglas, Edward "Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved February 17, 2012
  12. ^ a b "Blackout Confirmed for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". ComingSoon.net. March 16, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  13. ^ "Ghost Rider Sequel's Blackout Won't Follow Marvel Mythology". October 27, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Hinds and Placido Joining Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". SuperheroHype.com. October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  15. ^ Arya Ponto (August 16, 2007). "Peter Fonda Talks About Working with Russell Crowe and 'Ghost Rider 2'". JustPressPlay.net. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
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  17. ^ Weintraub, Steve 'Frosty' (January 5, 2012). "Idris Elba GHOST RIDER SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE On-Set Interview". Collider.com.
  18. ^ "Announcement of 'Ghost Rider 2' casting". Official Christopher Lambert Website. November 17, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  19. ^ "Christophe Lambert, le retour d'une star sensible". QuestFrance.fr (in French). April 8, 2011. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  20. ^ a b Josh Wigler (November 4, 2009). "EXCLUSIVE: David Goyer Says 'Ghost Rider 2' Isn't A Reboot, Takes Place Eight Years Later". splashpage.mtv.com. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  21. ^ Peter Sciretta (February 10, 2007). "Ghost Rider 2 Announced". SlashFilm.com. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  22. ^ Arya Ponto (August 16, 2007). "Peter Fonda Talks About Working with Russell Crowe and 'Ghost Rider 2'". JustPressPlay.net. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  23. ^ Heather Newgen (December 3, 2007). "Nicolas Cage on Ghost Rider 2". SuperheroHype.com. Retrieved December 7, 2007.
  24. ^ Larry Carroll (December 5, 2007). "Nicolas Cage Wants Ghost Rider To Team Up With Spidey, Hit The Bottle In Sequel". MTV. Retrieved December 7, 2007.
  25. ^ Jim Vejvoda (September 10, 2010). "Danny Ketch in Ghost Rider 2?". IGN. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  26. ^ Vejvoda, Jim (September 3, 2008). "Cage Talks Ghost Rider 2". IGN. Archived from the original on September 9, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  27. ^ Miska, Brad (January 29, 2009). "Nicolas Cage Attached to 'Ghost Rider' Sequel". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  28. ^ Miska, Brad (October 2, 2009). "David Goyer's Shocking 'Ghost Rider 2' News". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  29. ^ Barton, Steve (November 4, 2009). "David Goyer Talks Ghost Rider 2". DreadCentral.com. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  30. ^ "Neveldine and Taylor Will Direct Ghost Ride Sequel and Cage Will Return". The Film Stage. June 14, 2010. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  31. ^ a b STEVE 'FROSTY' WEINTRAUB (January 5, 2012). "Collider Goes to Romania to Visit the Set of GHOST RIDER SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE". Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  32. ^ "'Ghost Rider 2' Casting Updates: Ciaran Hinds, Iris Elba, Johnny Whitworth & Christopher Lambert". FusedFilm.com. October 12, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  33. ^ "La bonne étoile de Christophe Lambert" (in French). TVMag.com. February 25, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  34. ^ "Nicolas Cage Says 'Ghost Rider 2' Is 'A Different Trajectory, But It's Still The Same Guy'". MTV Splash Page. July 7, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
  35. ^ "No Eva Mendes for Ghost Rider 2". Superhero Hype!. July 19, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  36. ^ "Ghost Rider Sequel to Shoot this Fall in 3D". [Superhero Hype!]. August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  37. ^ "'Ghost Rider' star Nicolas Cage admires Cappadocia". Today's Zaman. January 24, 2011. Archived from the original on January 24, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  38. ^ STEVE 'FROSTY' WEINTRAUB (September 27, 2011). "Bryan Taylor interview on Collider.com". Collider. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  39. ^ "Filming Locations for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), in Romania and Turkey".
  40. ^ Joshua L. Weinstein (February 17, 2012). "'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance' Ready to Catch Box Office Fire". Yahoo!.
  41. ^ "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  42. ^ Pamela McClintock (September 8, 2015). "'Fantastic Four' Gets Worst CinemaScore Ever for Studio Superhero Movie". The Hollywood Reporter.
  43. ^ Virtel, Louis (December 13, 2011). "Early Report: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is so Awful, You'll Pee Fire". Movieline. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012.
  44. ^ Scott Collura (February 17, 2012). "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Review. Johnny Blaze, shine on you crazy diamond". IGN. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  45. ^ Barker, Andrew (February 17, 2012). "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – Variety". Variety.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  46. ^ Sachs, Ben (February 23, 2012). "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 3D". Chicago Reader.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  47. ^ Savlov, Marc. "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". Austin Chronicle.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  48. ^ Rabin, Nathan (February 17, 2012). "Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  49. ^ Travers, Peter (February 17, 2012). "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  50. ^ 33rd Annual RAZZIE® NOMINATIONS on YouTube
  51. ^ Ghost Rider 3' & 'Crank 3D' Planned. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  52. ^ Mark Langshaw (February 14, 2012). "Ghost Rider 3' wanted by Nicolas Cage". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012.
  53. ^ Toro, Gabe (February 13, 2012). "Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor Say There's Already Talks About A 'Ghost Rider 3'; Still Considering 'Crank 3D'". IndieWire.
  54. ^ "Nicolas Cage Talks 'Ghost Rider' 3; Says it's Possible 'But it Won't Be With Me'". Collider. March 8, 2013.
  55. ^ Wigler, Josh (August 3, 2013). "Nicolas Cage: 'I'm Done' Making 'Ghost Rider' Movies". MTV News.
  56. ^ "'Ghost Rider' Movie Rights Return to Marvel – Will We See a Reboot Soon?". screenrant.com. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  57. ^ Anthony Breznican (May 17, 2013). "Marvel's Phase Three: 'Doctor Strange,' 'Iron Man 4,' 'Hulk,' 'Inhumans' or 'Runaways' on Horizon? -- EXCLUSIVE". Archived from the original on June 7, 2013.
  58. ^ "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' adds Gabriel Luna as Ghost Rider". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
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