Ghost Rider Review

Messages: Johnny sells his soul to the devil and regrets it; demons wreak havoc; bad guys die; cops are inept.

Role models: Johnny did sell his soul to the devil for a noble reason: to save his dad from dying of terminal cancer. But his current murdering vigilante persona is not something to emulate. His TV reporter love interest Roxanne, his childhood sweetheart, is innocent, and they look out for each other. The Carertaker acts as a protective mentor to Johnny.

Violence: Constant cartoonish violence, mayhem, and stunts. Johnny's father dies in a motorcycle stunt; Johnny falls off his motorcycle; the devil torments him with a "burning finger" one motorcycle jump results in a brutal crash; Blackheart kills several humans by turning their faces gray and crumbly; fights between Blackheart's gang and Johnny feature violent falls, throws against walls, and slams; as the Ghost Rider, Johnny is frequently on fire (his skull face is creepy); Ghost Rider attacks and kills a mugger, who stabs him with a knife (Caretaker stitches the wound in close-up); policemen shoot repeatedly at Ghost Rider, who absorbs bullets and rides away; Ghost Rider uses a chain to whip, capture, and throw victims (demons); Johnny fights a watery demon underwater; Johnny and Blackheart fight (lots of throwing, grunting, crawling); Blackheart throws Roxy against a wall; characters shoot Blackheart with shotgun (one shot takes off his head, whereupon he's surrounded by swooping bad souls, whom he absorbs); Ghost Rider's Stare of Penance makes bad guys scream and die.

Sex: Roxy's tops always show cleavage; Roxy and Johnny kiss several times; Mack makes a joke about "needing a woman's touch."

Language: "S--t" (used once), "son of a bitch," "damn," "hell," "ass."

Consumerism: Brief visual displays of Marlboro cigarettes.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: One scene of chaos is set in a saloon (patrons and bartender are killed by demon); in other scenes, characters smoke cigarettes (Johnny's dad smokes and has cancer; Johnny later turns down a cigarette offered by a cop); characters drink beer (though, Johnny won't drink, saying, "Alcohol gives me nightmares"), and a scene dedicated to Roxy's imbibing a full bottle of wine while waiting for Johnny to show up for a date (she appears drunk at the end).