JACKPOT MOVIE REVIEWS: Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance

Hi there, welcome to the Patch debut of Jackpot Movie Reviews. I have grown up loving movies since the age of 2, go to about 200 movies a year, and try to see movies the weekend they open (for independent films, the weekend they come around our way.) In these pages, I'll do my best to bring you incisive and up-to-date movie reviews... Hope you enjoy!

I'll be the first to admit it -- I loved the first "Ghost Rider." I thought it was a fun, exciting origin story. On top of this, I love Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the directing duo behind the great Crank films and the strange but fun Gamer. Neveldine/Taylor have now decided to take on a sequel to "Ghost Rider." It seemed perfect: a fun directing team mixed with a sequel to a movie I loved.

That being said, "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is egregious -- the storytelling rudimentary, the directing way too off-the-wall for its own good and the acting over the top. Nicolas Cage starred in last year's "Drive Angry," a 3D adventure I loved. This film had the potential to be the next "Drive Angry." It had all the elements of that film: violence, 3D, a so-ridiculous-it-might-actually-work storyline, and yes, Nicolas Cage. "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," however, takes those elements and smashes them into bite-sized pieces, that when eaten, leave a horrible taste in your mouth. This film also wastes the actors of Ciaran Hinds and Idris Elba, two of the coolest British actors you can wish for, in horrible supporting roles. The film, on top of all this, is so squeamishly bad. As I was sitting there, with my unnecessary 3D glasses on, I couldn't help but squirm at the fact that people will actually enjoy this film. Heck, the guy behind me was having a blast. Then again, the guy behind me was also talking to himself throughout the film. "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" also features quite possibly the worst scene in movie history, in which Cage tries to hold back the Ghost Rider within, and ends up going insane. This is not a spoiler because it's so laughably obvious what's going to happen. "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is a film that no one should ever see if not just for the fact that so much potential is wasted in the short amount of 90 minutes.