Iffy for 13+
Crazy, violent, dumb action sequel quickly burns out.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is the sequel to the 2007's Ghost Rider and is based on a Marvel Comics character (albeit one who seems more on wreaking vengeance than assisting people in need). There's lots of strong, if mostly bloodless, fantasy violence; unlike the original movie, this one is in 3-D, which makes some of the action/violence even more intense. Characters burn and decay; a woman and a boy (about 13) are slapped around; there are fights, explosions, guns and shooting; and lots of stuff catches on fire. Ghost Rider's skull face is pretty creepy, too. Language is infrequent but includes one use of "f--k"; there's also some brief sexual innuendo and a quick reference to a minor character being an alcoholic (he's shown drinking but not drunk).
- Families can talk about Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance's fantasy violence. Was it gruesome or thrilling? How does the impact of this kind of mayhem compare to more realistic violence?
- What kind of superhero is Ghost Rider? Is he a good guy -- a role model? How does he compare to other superheroes?
- When Ghost Rider agrees to take back his powers to help others, is this an admirable act, or a selfish act? Or can it be both?
- Why are so many action/superhero movies based on comic books? What's the appeal?
The good stuff
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Messages: A similar message/theme as most other Marvel superhero movies: With great power comes great responsibility. Here, a character agrees to take on great suffering in order to help others. Unfortunately, his power also involves a deal with the devil, and violent behavior with no consequences goes hand-in-hand with the impulse to help.
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Role models: Ghost Rider isn't one of the more admirable heroes in comic book movies. He struck a deal with the devil, and he's in constant torment. His power involves punishing and/or destroying the wicked -- i.e. vengeance rather than assistance. A boy is shown to be a skilled pickpocket.
What to watch for
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Violence: Very little blood, and all of the violence is heavily FX-based, but viewers do see characters rotting and burning. A boy of about 13 and his mother are in danger; they're both physically attacked, pushed around, and hit. The boy is kidnapped and treated roughly (he's injected with a needle and gets a small cut on his face). There are also threats and heavy fighting, guns and shooting, car chases, crashes, and explosions. Minor characters die. Some scary stuff (Ghost Rider's skull face is quite creepy). Characters behave angrily and crazily.
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Sex: In an animated graphic, the main character's bare butt is glimpsed during a motorcycle stunt. In another scene, it's implied that a businessman is trying to pick up a beautiful woman for sex, but nothing overt is said.
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Language: One use of "f--k." Also "merde" (which is French for "s--t"), "ass," "d--k," "goddamn," "a--hole," and "hell." "Idiot" and "balls" are seen in subtitles.
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Consumerism: A Twinkie is part of a well-placed joke, but the label isn't shown, and the product isn't mentioned by name.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: A secondary character is referred to as an alcoholic. He's seen drinking briefly from a flask and sipping from a bottle or two of fine wine, but he isn't shown drunk, nor does he really demonstrate alcoholism. He's also seen (nearly) lighting a cigarette.
Fan Reviews provided by
5
sometimes the second time is better by fabrizio
just saw the ghost rider 2 and ive got to say it was a fun action packed ride that i highly recommend. Now there will be the usual Nicolas Cage haters that are going to go on about his terrible acting and stiff persona blah blah..........get over it its a movie about a guy who goes on fire not an academy award aspirant. When Cage is interrogating this one guy as he is trying to hold back the demon I could not stop laughing and that is the point of a movie of this kind, to have fun and enjoy the journey. If only the writers of Journey to Mysterious Island had half the imagination that the writers of this movie had it also would have been good. Leave your prejudice of Cage behind go and see this movie and enjoy.
1
Waste of money by Busywithbabies
I saw this movie today with my husband, we loved the first ghost rider movie and were excited to see this one. But where to begin? The 3D... Was a double vision blurry mess! By far the worst 3d movie I have ever seen as far as quality goes. The story of this movie was non existent. And the direction looked like it came from a bunch of teenagers. The ghost rider was way too animated and not at all believable. The acting was just ok, but not what I expected from Nicholas Cage. I was left bored and would have left if I were there alone. Big disappointment!
4
Just as good as the first but no A. by Lapitup
The movie has a European feel to it, which actually worked for the movie in this one. The demon theme is a bit old now. The story line was there but boring at parts. Cage played himself (as usual) again not bad in this setting; it worked for NOT against the movie as a whole. Age limit 26-28 any older you have probably already seen it and done it before yet graphics were top notch and the cinematography was great. Over all I give it 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5.
I liked the other demon; yet my friend did not so it is 50/50 if you will like how they portrayed this demon and his powers. Overall I say go especially if you have a son/daughter that is in to comics or this type of genre. We did enjoy ourselves for the most part.
1
Worst Movie of 2012 so far by oldcarmike
They are going to have to work really hard to top this for the worst movie of the year! There was no plot to speak of, and definitely no surprises in the storyline. Most of he acting was ok although Nicolas Cage's performance was almost comical it was so bad. I suggest stay at home and watch the weather channel for better entertainment.
5
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance by jrsavage
Real good story line and graffix but, some of the movements on the Ghost was dumb! Other than that I hope the next one is better! To the producer, "What is up with trying to do comedy in a super hero movie?"
4
EXCELLANT!! by photo623
I DONT KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD RATE THIS BADLY.CINEMATOGRAPHY WAS INSANE/INCREDIBLE. ACTING WAS PERFECT FROM EVERY SINGLE ACTOR --ESP. NICHOLAS WHO WAS TOTALLY INTO CHARACTER THE WHOLE TIME. BUT IF U DONT KNOW ACTING,WRITING,CREATIVITY AND WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE A FILM LIKE THIS THEN I GUESS U MIGHT PUT IT DOWN SO U SHOULD PROBABLY JUST STICK TO THE CHICK FLICKS!! GOOD VS EVIL AND KICKS *** IS ALWAYS A GOOD STORY.
1
What A Waste by ghostriderfan
After the 2007 movie did not do well....let me say this the only thing good about that version was the CGI . The story, plot, and character development was so bad that as a huge fan of the comic book I just would've rather seen the comic just stay that......a comic. Well Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor decided to take on Ghost Rider, well to my dismay they failed. Unlike the first film CGI can't save this one the story was horrible the camera work was hurky jerky and pretty much made me sick. The story, yes folks the story where the hell was it. There was no story, plot or anything else, but this film is so bad that I rather save you your hard earned money. This film was a total waste of good comic book material and according to the directors they read the comic book. As a fan of the comic book they didn't read enough. This version of Ghost Rider was a total waste of time and money.
5
awesome by krysten_west
this movie was totally worth seeing..in my opinion it blew the first one out of the water..will totally go see it again and again and own it on dvd/blu-ray
1
Aweful! by hsteindel
This was by far the worst movie i seen all year so far. The first movie was fantastic this was obviously low budget with a bad script. Do not waste your money. Wait till it is on HBO
5
GHOST RIDER --SPIRIT OF VENGENCE by PECJONES
LOVED IT!!!!! --IT IS A MUST SEE, I GIVE IT 5 STARS, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE IT IN 3-D. THE EFFECTS ARE -"WOW", AND THE PLOT IS EXCELLENT. I BELIEVE THIS IS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL AND HAS MUCH MORE SUBSTANCE.