'Ghost Rider'
(Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, Peter Fonda, et al / PG-13 / 89 mins / Sony Pictures)
Overview: The story is based on the Marvel character Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman who becomes the host of a "spirit of vengeance" in exchange for the safety of his true love. At night he's transformed into a fiery demon with superpowers who chases bad guys.
Verdict: Sometimes a movie fails and succeeds at the same time. Because by any real-world standard, this is a stupid piece of junk. But it's very good at being a stupid piece of junk, if for no other reason than the insane premise and for being kind of a window into Cage's bizarro soul: the strange, borderline-Liza Minnelli wig he's wearing; the immobile face that defies plastic surgery accusations because for all we know he injects it with some kind of exotic snake venom to freeze the forehead muscles — you know, as an acting choice — before the director yells, "Action!"; and the Elvis-isms. So many of those happening. It adds up to nonstop fascination if you're paying attention to the right details.
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