Ghost Rider 2, Deadpool 0

I was sitting on the toilet recently and figured out why GH2 didn't work as well as it should have:

The character didn't match the storyteller.

This dynamic worked wonders so far with Marvel Studios. Iron Man: John Favreau, Captain America: Joe Johnston, Thor: Kenneth Branagh. Even Louis Leterrier did a good job with Hulk. This is because Marvel knows their characters inside out, upside down and sideways. They know a good fit when they see it.

When Marvel sold film rights of some of their characters, the creative control over who directed what was out of their hands. Sure, they had some say in what went on, and they made money from the deals, but in the end all Marvel could do was watch from the sidelines.


Ghost Rider 2 was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor - the guys behind both Crank films. Ghost Rider is also one of the characters Marvel does not currently own the film rights of.

Now, I love both Crank movies, and Neveldine/Taylor are very talented storytellers...but they were not the right storytellers for this character.

Ghost Rider deals with isues like Christianity, demons, demonic possessions, the Devil and religious ceremonies. Rather serious stuff. Putting their brand of humor into this mix made the character seem...immature.

In fact, most of Marvel's characters handled outside Marvel Studios were mismatched. Ang Lee's Hulk is a prime example of this. So was Tim Story's vision of the FF. (Bryan Singer's X-Men and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man were lucky hits, but it could have gone the other way *cough* see sequels *cough*)

Now what does this mean? Not that Marvel Studios is doing it right and everyone else is doing it wrong (although that argument could be made), just that Marvel Studios is doing it better.

It also means that despite the lackluster results of GH2, Neveldine/Taylor could still make a fantastic movie featuring a Marvel character - whether Marvel Studios does it or not.

They just have to find a character that shares their warped sense of violence and humor...whimsy and mayhem...chaos and jest...


DEAD and POOL...

By the way - Joss Whedon is a perfect fit for Avengers because he does a great job working with multiple lead characters *cough* Firefly/Serenity *cough* and his desire to present strong female leads could mean great things for Black Widow. PLUS: Marvel completely owns the Avengers, and hired Joss in the first place. Meaning that even if someone dies in the movie, Marvel has a plan...

In Marvel Studios I trust!

First Impressions: Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance

My daughter and I saw the movie Monday afternoon in a 2-D theatre.

First Impressions: I didn't know what the hell was happening the first ten minutes of the film other than - there's a kid, and his mom, being chased out of some monestary run by Uther Pendragon from "Merlin" by some bad dudes led by a guy who looks like Swan from The Warriors who in turn are being chased by Heimdall from Thor.

It was then that I remembered this movie was directed by the guys who did Crank and settled in for the ride.

On a side note - I only saw both Crank films on Netflix, so I wasn't used to the constant camera motion on a big screen, which made me kind of sea-sick.

There was the necessary narrative that summed up the first film for viewers that never saw it, which does tie into the plot of this film. We also learn the boy's first name (but not his last), his connection to Ghost Rider and the reason everyone's after him.

There was a lot of action and special effects (of course), and a nice cameo by Connor MacLeod.  Cage's acting is as you'd expect from a film like this - somewhat over the top.

I could tell that this movie is another victim of the "let's convert it to 3-D after the fact in an effort to get more people to see it" school of thought, and I can only imagine how few shots would actually work in 3-D.

My daughter thought it was a fun film, with a simple plot but "looked cool". I'd have to agree. Definitely worth the matinee price during a school vacation week.

I noticed it was released through the Marvel Knights production company - like Punisher: War Journal before it, which didn't perform so well at the box office. Plus, GH2 was rated PG-13, which is why I brought my daughter to see it with me. If Marvel Knights Productions plans to stick around, and I think it could, their first rule should be to stick to R-rated films.Rule #2 should be to move to another medium, like cable television or a Marvel owned webzone. Rule #3 should be to begin it's own sub-Marvel Movie Universe with more Blade/Son of Satan/Nightstalkers/Doctor Strange/Morbius type films.

I hope this movie does well enough to continue the franchise, but we'll have to wait and see.