Friday, February 23, 2007
GHOST RIDER
It was a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons. If you're looking for a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons, it's a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons.
That's not quite supposed to feel as wiseacre as it reads. It's pretty damned accurate.
So, the question is if you want to see a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons. If you answer 'yes,' then you need to think very carefully about your expectations. I've heard some very peculiar cavils regarding GHOST RIDER. One was that law enforcement officials acted in unrealistic ways. Another concerned the somewhat cartoonish nature of the dialogue. Yet another questioned the ability of a man with a flaming skull to speak.
What were the expectations here? Were these people mistakenly thinking this film was a sequel to GHOST WORLD, picking up with Enid as she rides on the bus at the end?
No, this was a film based on a 1970's Marvel horror comic. It felt like it. The ads in no way mislabel the film.
So, not to reduce things, but if you crave a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons, you'll walk away happy. It's about a B-level Marvel hero, and, as such, it's a B-level movie. So be it. Unlike Lucas' prequel trilogy, it has no pretensions of being anything more than a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons.
As a fan of the comic (circa 1980), it gave me exactly what I wanted: a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons.
It was a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons. If you're looking for a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons, it's a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons.
That's not quite supposed to feel as wiseacre as it reads. It's pretty damned accurate.
So, the question is if you want to see a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons. If you answer 'yes,' then you need to think very carefully about your expectations. I've heard some very peculiar cavils regarding GHOST RIDER. One was that law enforcement officials acted in unrealistic ways. Another concerned the somewhat cartoonish nature of the dialogue. Yet another questioned the ability of a man with a flaming skull to speak.
What were the expectations here? Were these people mistakenly thinking this film was a sequel to GHOST WORLD, picking up with Enid as she rides on the bus at the end?
No, this was a film based on a 1970's Marvel horror comic. It felt like it. The ads in no way mislabel the film.
So, not to reduce things, but if you crave a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons, you'll walk away happy. It's about a B-level Marvel hero, and, as such, it's a B-level movie. So be it. Unlike Lucas' prequel trilogy, it has no pretensions of being anything more than a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons.
As a fan of the comic (circa 1980), it gave me exactly what I wanted: a movie about a guy with a flaming skull who rides a motorcycle-of-fire and kills demons.
# posted by Doctor Lao @ 8:36 AM 
