Ghost Rider is a 2007 American supernatural superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The film was written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, and stars Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider, with Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott, Donal Logue, Matt Long, and Peter Fonda in supporting roles.
Plot[]
Over one hundred years ago, Mephistopheles, a demon who masquerades as the Devil, sent his bounty hunter of the damned, the Ghost Rider, to retrieve a document known as the Contract of San Venganza, a list of a thousand corrupt souls. Seeing that the contract would give Mephistopheles the power to unleash hell on Earth, the rider refuses to give him the contract.
In 1986, Mephistopheles reaches out to 17-year-old stunt motorcycle rider Johnny Blaze, offering to cure his father's cancer in exchange for Blaze's soul, an offer he was examining when the paper cuts his finger, a drop of his blood landing on the dotted line. Unwittingly, the deal is sealed. The next morning, Blaze awakes to discover that his father's cancer is cured, but he is killed that same day in a motorcycle stunt in which he falls into the ring of fire through which he jumps. Blaze accuses Mephistopheles of causing his father's death, but Mephistopheles considers their contract to be fulfilled and promises to one day see him again.
21 years later, Blaze has become a famous stunt motorcycle rider known for surviving numerous deadly crashes. Blaze meets his lifelong sweetheart Roxanne Simpson, now a news reporter, whom he abandoned after his father's death. He convinces her to attend a dinner date. Meanwhile, Blackheart, the demonic son of Mephistopheles, comes to Earth, along with three fallen angels who bonded with the elements air, earth, and water. They seek to find the Contract of San Venganza. In response, Mephistopheles makes Blaze the new Ghost Rider and offers to return his soul if he defeats Blackheart, though he is also told he has no choice since he signed a contract with him. Blaze is driven straight to the station on his first ride, where he transforms into the Ghost Rider and kills the earth demon, Gressil. He also saves a young girl from a mugger and incinerates him with the Penance Stare (a power which allows the Ghost Riders to make any evil mortal experience all the pain they caused on their victims, burning away their very soul). The next day, he meets a man called the Caretaker, who seems to know all about the history of the Ghost Rider. He tells him everything which happened was not a dream and that it will happen again, especially at night when he is near an evil soul.
When he arrives home, Blaze finds Simpson and reveals himself as the devil's bounty hunter. Unconvinced, she walks away in disbelief. After a brief imprisonment for the murders which Blackheart committed, where when the inmates try to beat him up, Blaze transforms into the Ghost Rider and knocks them all out when he does, escapes the jail. The air demon, Abigor, attacks Blaze while Simpson and police watch, and is killed when Blaze traps him in a fiery tornado. The cops open fire on Blaze, but he forces them back with a wall of fire to warn them to stay out of his way, before returning to the Caretaker, who tells him of his predecessor, Carter Slade, a Texas Ranger who hid the Contract of San Venganza. Blaze returns home to find that Blackheart has killed his friend Mack and has taken Roxanne captive, threatening to kill her if Blaze does not deliver the contract. Blaze tries to use the Penance Stare on Blackheart, but it does not work as Blackheart has no soul to burn.
Blaze returns to the caretaker, who reveals himself as Carter Slade, and obtains the contract. Slade tells Blaze that he is more powerful and unpredictable than his predecessors since he sold his soul for love as opposed to other Riders who sold their own for greed. Slade leads Blaze to San Venganza, then gives Blaze a lever-action shotgun and the advice 'Stick to the shadows' before riding away.
Crossing the river into San Venganza Blaze is ambushed by the water demon Wallow, whom he quickly boils to death. Blaze trades the contract to Blackheart for Simpson. He quickly transforms into Ghost Rider in an effort to subdue Blackheart, but dawn arrives and he is rendered powerless. Blackheart uses the contract to absorb the thousand souls into his body, renaming himself "Legion". He attempts to kill Blaze, taunting that the Earth would be his to rule, but is distracted when Simpson uses Blaze's discarded shotgun to separate them. Staying in shadow, Blaze finds he can still become the Ghost Rider, and after trying to kill Blackheart with the shotgun infused with his power, he seizes him and uses the Penance Stare on him, burning all the corrupt souls within Blackheart, just as he had hoped for, and is left with his eyes reduced to glowing cinders.
Mephistopheles appears and offers to return Blaze his soul, offering to take back the curse of the Ghost Rider. Determined not to make another deal, Blaze declines, saying that he will use his power against him, and against all harm that comes to the innocent. Infuriated for being robbed of the power, Mephistopheles vows to make Blaze pay, but Blaze tells Mephistopheles that he is not afraid. Mephistopheles then disappears, taking Blackheart's dead body with him. Later, Simpson tells Blaze that he got his second chance before sharing a final kiss with him. Blaze then rides away on his motorcycle, resuming his new role as the Ghost Rider.
Cast[]
- Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider
- Matt Long as Young Johnny Blaze
- Eva Mendes as Roxanne Simpson
- Raquel Alessi as Young Roxanne Simpson
- Brett Cullen as Barton Blaze
- Wes Bentley as Blackheart/Legion
- Sam Elliott as Carter Slade/Caretaker
- Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles
- Donal Logue as Randall Mackenzie
- Laurence Breuls as Gressil
- Daniel Frederiksen as Wallow
- Mathew Wilkinson as Abigor
- David Roberts as Captain Dolan
- Rebel Wilson as Girl in Alley
Sequel[]
Ghost Rider was followed by a sequel: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011).
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
| Ghost Rider |
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| Ghost Rider (2007), Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) |