If a movie rises or falls on its reviews then there’s little hope for Nicolas Cage’s latest epic, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance which London’s Daily Mirror thinks is probably the worst superhero film ever made.
The paper’s reviewer writes: “If you’ve been wondering why Nicolas Cage has been pumping out so many terrible films of late, blame the IRS. After sending him a bill for $6.2m, the actor has been signing up for one burn and churn after the next.
“Think Justice, Season Of The Witch and Trespass, the last of which broke US box-office records by taking less than $25,000.
“Having watched – or rather witnessed – his latest pile-up, the slide is growing ever more precipitous with what may be the worst superhero film ever made.”
IIn a sequel to 2007’s Ghost Rider, Cage gets back on his bike as Johnny Blaze who, having sold his soul to the devil, is able to turn himself into a flaming avenger when the need arises.
The review continues: “The first film wasn’t much cop, but at least it boasted some fine special effects. Second time around, they look pedestrian while Cage’s performance is… well, pretty much what we’ve come to expect.
“But the biggest problem is a story as flat as Lincolnshire. Despite mass explosions, a flaming bike, a hero who can turn into a burning skeleton, and all of it in above-average 3D, the film fails to excite thanks to stock characters, a lack of peril and a plot done a million times in the past few years (see Babylon AD, Machete and even Cage’s Drive Angry).”
Daily Variety, Hollywood’s trade newspaper isn’t any kinder: It describes the movie as “rickety, slapdash and surprisingly dull.”
The paper’s reviewer writes: “If you’ve been wondering why Nicolas Cage has been pumping out so many terrible films of late, blame the IRS. After sending him a bill for $6.2m, the actor has been signing up for one burn and churn after the next.
“Think Justice, Season Of The Witch and Trespass, the last of which broke US box-office records by taking less than $25,000.
“Having watched – or rather witnessed – his latest pile-up, the slide is growing ever more precipitous with what may be the worst superhero film ever made.”
IIn a sequel to 2007’s Ghost Rider, Cage gets back on his bike as Johnny Blaze who, having sold his soul to the devil, is able to turn himself into a flaming avenger when the need arises.
The review continues: “The first film wasn’t much cop, but at least it boasted some fine special effects. Second time around, they look pedestrian while Cage’s performance is… well, pretty much what we’ve come to expect.
“But the biggest problem is a story as flat as Lincolnshire. Despite mass explosions, a flaming bike, a hero who can turn into a burning skeleton, and all of it in above-average 3D, the film fails to excite thanks to stock characters, a lack of peril and a plot done a million times in the past few years (see Babylon AD, Machete and even Cage’s Drive Angry).”
Daily Variety, Hollywood’s trade newspaper isn’t any kinder: It describes the movie as “rickety, slapdash and surprisingly dull.”