I thought at first Johnny was going to be very rough, in that first part, but he could not hide his true nature, I guess.
That last part Lula, I am still wondering about that. Don't click on the spoiler, people who don't want to be spoiled!
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I already had read somewhere that Zarathos was a fallen angel, maybe in an earlier interview? Not sure. It fits with Christian mythology anyway. But was he supposed to have rid himself of all demonic ways then? My dh said all the flames were blue, not black, at the end as he drove away. I didn't even notice. Did you?
-- Edited by Lady Trueheart on Sunday 26th of February 2012 11:54:17 PM
oh yes, the animated sections were so cool! the beginning bit was over and done with really quickly though, I remember wanting more of that! it should please those who always grumble about backstories though! and that part about the devil!
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I cracked up when the Jerry Springer picture appeared, lol!!
there was some heart to this movie too, with John Blaze and Danny, but it was weird for me as I found myself wanting Johnny to be even badder!
Oh! and I must not forget how much I loved the ending....DO NOT CLICK ON THIS SPOILER IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE I AM NOT KIDDING!!!!
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the idea of his 'possession' being by a fallen angel was really intriguing to me too.. i love that kind of blending of duality..and at the ending when Johnny discovered that he could feel the angel and put his hand on Danny...
Ok..the movie opened 2 weeks ago, so maybe now we could be free to talk about the movie? things may be including some spoilers now, so if you have not seen the movie yet, SPOILER ALERTS! spoilers ahead!
Do you mean Johnny's true nature Lady T, or the true nature of the demon / angel within him?
As far as I recall the explanation for Zarathos in the film, was he was a fallen angel who was corrupted in hell... but i believe in the Marvel mythology he was not an angel to begin with at all, but always a demon who was forced into an alliance with Mephisto..my biblical knowledge does extend far enough to know if this is included in christian scripture, but I would be interested to know about how it fits in with christian mythology meg!
I was however looking out for Archangel Michael and Zadkiel, I thought I had read somewhere that they would appear! but the blue flames (which is what I saw Meg!) which Johnny Blaze had in his hands, are the colour traditionally associated with AA Michael....so that was very interesting!
I meant Johnny's true spirit, Lula, kind and compassionate.
The devil was supposed to be a fallen angel, Lula, so I base it on that, and all the stories and movies so popular now where angels fall from grace.
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My impression of the ending was that it was deliberately ambiguous, and we are left to wonder if the Ghost Rider is now an angel of vengence, not a demon, able to differentiate and choose who he punishes. And I wondered if that scene where he took power from the boy to get the demon back meant that the boy lost his inheritance from his father and was now a normal boy.
I have seen GR2 now and thought it was a really great movie. =) My other half did not want to go but he said he really liked it and thinks it has changed his opinion of Nick for the better! I am glad Nick did not resort to bad language and more for shock value but it was still scary and dark enough to be shocking. I did not know what to expect from these directors, but I think that it suited what they wanted to do with this movie. My favourite scenes were the ones u all said and that one with the nurse, that was funny, the lines there. All those pills he kept taking, it did remind me a bit of Bad Lieutenant. We are going again tomorrow night so I will report back again, I want to watch all those cartoon bits again, I think there may be some subliminal images there.
So yesterday was the big day. even though i am still a bit sick i went to the cinema, because i already had the tickets and theres no excuse for missing another masterpiece of sir cage´s work!
i have to say i really liked what neveldine and taylor did in the two crank movies and you can see that these are the producers. the movie is complete different then the first one hard to compare i must say. but it think i like this one more because darker and has more action like the comics.
i really enjoyed to see the grotesc parts of the movie and the fight scenes with the rider really kick ass. to me the 3d was uneccesary they could have made a normal 2d but ok. the story was fun to watch and thrilling. the church or very religius people could easily be offended by some parts of the movie i guess thats really some sort of blasphemy but that makes it even better to me.=) Nic´s perfomance especially when he changes the characters is just amazing he really did something great and new just for the next time. And i think the end just tells us that its a good point for the third movie and i have the feeling that we will see Nic doing this role again.
ROAD KILL
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Whoop! I am so happy you have seen it Flo, cool to read your impresssion, thanks for posting about it.that is sign of a diehard Nic fan, going to the cinema when you are ill, i hope you feel better soon!
I agree with you about Nic's performance, it was competely new, with an exciting edge. I had not thought about the religions themes causing offense...I guess becase i have see Neveldine and Taylor's other work that would be the last thing to worry about in terms of offensiveness..but they really toned down their extreme content wihtout losing any of their trademark style, which I really love . not just the camera work but the editing together and the interspersion of images and comedy moments, that is excitng in their other films and that was a relief and joy to see it in GR:SOV too!
Indeed. that enfingis mouthwatering int ers of where it would go..Nic ns the directors have already fanned the flames of hope with comments about a trilogy ( Nicolas Cage Would Enter The Flames Of Hell For A Ghost Rider Trilogy ) and the film is doing well in the international box office so i am hopeful about this too!
Nicschix thank you for sharing your thoughts too, you have me thinking back on those bits now, sublimanl messages? oh my!
I do recall one image they put in there..or did they? of one of my fave Pink Floyd albums (i am going to be dead embarrassed if i aws wrong about this) but i thought that was interesting comment, in terms of making deals with the devil and/ or having a flaming alter ego!
Of course, Cage and Hinds aren't the only familiar faces in the film. If you're paying attention at around the midway point of the film, you'll see a recreation of Pink Floyd's famous "Wish You Were Here" album cover, with a man shaking the hand of another, bursting into flames. It's an iconic image, and who else to capture the mood but Neveldine and Taylor themselves? "We were gonna actually use the Pink Floyd cover, but we couldn't get the rights," Taylor laments. As a result, the two show up recreating the famous pose on the album cover, a one-second gag sure to please rock fans. Of course, Taylor also claims that your eyes may be deceiving you, as he jokes, "That was us making the deal with Sony."
Wait....it was Neveldine and Taylor recreating the handshake themselves?!?! WOOOOOW! this film just got a million times more epic. that is very very cool. wish I could tell em. shake their hands.
And..how did I not read this before or did I read it and in the heady mix of all the GR:SOV interviews it went over my head? thank you Lady T!
I do remember reading that they did a cameo, but that is all the detail I recall. I noticed it right away but didn't get the context since I am not familiar with that album cover. It's pretty cool, eh?
The image has always been enigmatic and compelling, kind of surreal..now it has taken on a whole new meaning! yes just very very cool. I want to high five N and T for it.
whoop, what a refreshig read! you are in the right place my friend, thanks for coming here and sharing it with us!
if you read through this topic you will see thAt thsoe of us whO have seen the movie loved it too and I agree with you, i'm scratching my head as to why any comic fan boys or girls would not love this!
Your knowledge of the Ghost Rider comic book world is really cool, I appreciate having the insights that you have shared. so excited about the angelic zarathos resurfacing and the possiblities for Ghost Rider 3!!
Now I do realize that I'm going against a major norm of society (the norm being to hate Nicolas Cage and every single one of his movies), but at this point I really don't care anymore. I loved the first Ghost Rider movie and guess what? I liked this film too. I enjoyed watching Nic Cage turning into burned up and batcrap crazy version of the Spirit of Vengeance. I definitely enjoyed the scene where Blaze interrogated a crime boss about the whereabouts of Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth) by threatening him with a transformation into the Rider and the subsequent transformation scene on his motorcycle. He does a very good job at acting like a guy whose trying to keep a destructive demon inside him from breaking free. The Ghost Rider (also played by Cage) definitely appeared to be a force to be reckoned with. His powers include an updated Penance Stare and chain attacks which both result in the bad guys getting torched and the ability to infuse anything he rides (whether it be a strip miner or a truck) with his power. I loved the Rider's new look as well. True to the words of the directors, the Ghost Rider does indeed look as if he crawled out of Hell. Idris Elba as the drunk warrior monk Moreau delivered wit and action to the film as well. I also enjoyed the humor in the movie as well from Blaze's one-liners to his demonstration of the Rider urinating fire to Carrigan (as the movie's version of Blackout) going through a lunch box and rotting every piece food he finds except a twinkie.
Speaking of Blackout, I stand by Neveldine and Taylor's decision to make Whitworth's Blackout an undead fiend with the power to rot anything he touches. Let's face it, does anybody think that a crazy vampire wannabe that can only create a field of darkness around people is going to last even a second against a flaming skulled biker demon that can make people burst into flame with his chain, spit out flaming bullets in rapid fire succession after having those bullets fired into his open mouth, and turn a strip miner into a flaming vehicle of destruction? I think that this version of Blackout managed to hold his own against the Rider pretty well even if it was for one part of the movie. And in a sense they do allow him to stay somewhat true to the comics by having him keep his ability create a field of darkness around his intended victim. In fact I found a few things in the movie that came from the comics: the Rider being known as Zarathos, the Rider being revealed as an angelic spirit instead of a demonic one (Daniel Way's 2006 run), and finally the Rider now having blue flame (a la Danny Ketch in Jason Aaron's run).
The plot , a favored complaint of many a critic who reviewed this movie, is a bare bones good guy stops bad guy story. I call shenanigans on this because this is a type of plot that all action/superhero movies follow no matter how many twists and turns there are (Spider-Man stops Green Goblin, Thor stops Loki, Batman stops Joker, etc.). What many of these critics refuse to understand is that Neveldine and Taylor meant for people to see the action of the movie, not the story. And as far as I'm concerned they only gave the movie bad reviews because they still have their panties in a bunch over Nic Cage playing Ghost Rider again. I feel that the reason that he chose to play the Rider again is because he felt he could do more with it and, at least in my opinion, he did. The reasons he does the kind of movies is because he said he enjoyed playing flawed characters. He's not afraid to do what he wants and he does so in the face of hate and condemnation of many critics and filmgoers. Like the title suggests, people really need to get over their sour grapes over Nic Cage.
Bottom line: I saw Spirit of Vengeance and I enjoyed it and if that's wrong, then I'll take my chances about not being right. Feel free to leave any hate comments if you think I should do otherwise.
Ever since the first movie, I've been keeping a close eye on Ol' Flamehead in the comics. And like I said, I have good ol' Nic Cage to thank for it.
Mr. Cage, if you ever come across this, I'd just like to say, as one Ghost Rider fan to another, thank you. Thank you for helping me become interested in this most awesome of comic book characters.
I too have so much to be grateful to Mr Cage for, years of wonderful films across the genres, a myriad of indelible iconic characters and a constant flow of unmatchable creative energy!
('Lulu'? Lol! you will have me singing in a minute !)
Okay, I've seen ghost rider, and here is my review! (Maybe a few spoilers but, nothing from the plot itself)
First of all, I should say, it was less than I expected. (I feel guilty for saying this and very sorry for Nic) But, I should be honest, and say that I thought the music was not chosen well, at least to me. I think they should have went for something harder, especially when the ghost rider attacked. Also, I thought, when Nic talked about what happenend, with these cartoon and picture images to illustrate it, it was rather a little silly. I thought it was funny but it just didn't really fit the movie, and the jokes made in the movie itwelf were better. Another thing wich was a little sad is, that the story was good but it wasn't put together so well, and sometimes it was overtop, with that I mean, like too much to believe. Except these things, I did think the story was good and the actors all played it very well! Nic was great, Idris Elba too, loved how they act! The end, I thought was really good. I loved the story they told and the acting, Nic did some tremendous scenes in it, and that all was great. Of course, I couldn't do it better, it's easy to give bad comments. But as you all here know I do love Nic. I think it was a little less than I expected becous eof the trailers and the awesome reviews of everyone. It wasn't bad, but some things didn't seem to fit right.
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Thank you, for this interesting review, eva! I`m sorry to hear, that it was such a disappointment to you! As I haven`t seen it yet, I`m looking foward, to watch it myself, when it finally is released in germany in august!
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Hi Eva! thanks for your review, and taking the time to talk about your experience of GR:SOV!
i am sorry to hear it was a little bit of a disappointment for you after such a long waitl I wonder if had you seen it at the cinema in 3d as it was inteneded to be seen, if your experience would have been different? for me the music was intense as hell as it was ..but it is different in the cinema!
Also those cartoon bits I really really lvoed, they made the film the more quirky grungy, old skool..just loved it.
Lol, shows how different we all are and that you cannot please everyone all of the time!
I saw Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance today again as you did Eva (only cost me five yuan), I'm really happy you got chance to see this film, but I should say I love it.