Before we begin with Ghost Rider, there is that other Marvel movie by Mark Steven Johnson that needs to be discussed: Dare-Devil. There was always going to be some difficulty in making a ‘DD’ movie, mainly because it was like Spider-man, but slightly more interesting; a child blinded by radioactive chemicals that develops a ‘radar sense’ to compensate and becomes a superpowered guardian of Hell’s Kitchen in New York.
The expectations of the movie would no doubt be similar to Spider-man; namely big box-office success and the hopes of a lucrative film franchise. Johnson also had the added complications of trying to make a superhero movie where the superhero elements were being systematically toned down - the powers-that-be were perhaps embarrassed by the fact that Dare-Devil was a story about a grown man who wears a red costume and jumps about on rooftops.
The script and the creative decisions were mostly on the money - the handling of the father/son relationship for instance, the religious elements, the tragedy of Matthew Murdock’s life that makes him turn to a life of fighting crime.
The film was not without problems though - there was only half an origin tale in order to incorporate the ‘Elektra’ saga which made the overall story an off-balanced affair (especially as a first movie), Colin Farrell portraying the unhinged hitman ‘Bullseye’ seemed as if he was in a totally different movie altogether, the rock-music score felt like an attempt to gain some interest from the next-gen crowd but as a result aged the movie, and then there was the costume.
For a comicbook movie, the costume can make or break; in the pages of a comic it is the very identity of a superhero and on screen it will set the tone of a film for the audience. The story was handled with as much dignity and ‘reality’ as possible, but the fact is that the costume was wrong. The nature of these mistakes could be analysed ad infinitum but we’ll just leave it at that.
To sum it up, not a bad movie; an interesting take on the story, a serious gritty tone, but only a partial success because of a few creative mistakes, combined with a conflicting set of requirements from those holding the purse strings.
So, on to Ghost Rider - Mark Steven Johnson may be trying to make amends with his next comicbook movie it seems. It is the story of Johnny Blaze, a young stunt cyclist who ‘makes a deal with the Devil’ and sells his soul to save his dying father, losing the love of his life Roxanne in the process. He gets a chance to win back his soul from Mephistopheles though, by becoming a fiery supernatural agent of vengeance: the Ghost Rider. Things aren’t straightforward however, as Johnny’s first task is to go up against the villainous ‘Blackheart’, who is both the nemesis and son of Mephistopheles.
Thematically there are similarities to Dare-Devil; the father/son relationship, the religious elements, the inherent tragedy and so-on. This time though there is no costume as such, for Ghost Rider is a Hell’s Angel (so to speak); a leather-jacketed biker who has a fiery-wheeled motorcycle and whose head becomes a flaming skull. It is less superhero and more supernatural in tone and content.
Playing Johnny Blaze is Nicolas Cage - who has long since been looking for a comicbook movie that he could call his own. Playing an adult Blaze should be easy for him, but whether he can pull off a younger version of the character remains to be seen.The film also stars Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles and Eva Mendes as Roxanne.
The main advantage for Johnson in making this movie will be that Ghost Rider as a comicbook is less widely known, even compared to Daredevil, so he may have more creative freedom and opportunities to experiment with this movie. The film itself has had a troubling history though, with production delays and script issues but looks to be finally coming to the cinema in 2007. It’s not the same movie as DD, so imagining it to fare the same in the cinemas would be unfair. Heroes with troubled pasts and moody demeanors are usually welcomed in box office terms (Batman, James Bond, even Superman’s recent outing) so Ghost Rider fans can rest a little easier knowing that someone like Mark Steven Johnson - who treats the source material with respect - is bringing Johnny Blaze to the big screen.
Mo Ali was born in a haunted hospital and has exceeded all expectations and kept breathing.
A digital artist, poet and writer, he needs to find some paid work before the inevitable apocalypse. To make matters worse he lives in Berkshire.