Hopped Up

Strange as it might be to hear coming from the... fingers of a person with somewhat refined taste in film, the fact remains that I dig the kind of movies that Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor make. Though they have their names on some stinkers, I thought Crank was a fun, if formulaic flick. Crank 2, on the other hand, was the single biggest "fuck you" to mainstream action movies ever. Pretty much every single stupid thing you could imagine being packed into an action movie, Crank 2 had it. And I loved every single ridiculous inch of it. So, when I heard that Neveldine/Taylor were taking on the derided Ghost Rider franchise, my ears went all perky. Ghost Rider is the kind of comic book character that these guys were made for, totally insane and over the top. Now, the first Ghost Rider movie is one of the worst comic book films I've ever seen, so there wasn't much in the way of expectations for this one. That being said, there are elements to enjoy here. They are few and far between, and even though Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance doesn't quite get a recommendation from me, it does so in a very half hearted manner.

This is me on a good day!

Trailer Trash: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

It's time to root through some trailers. What sorts of wonderful things will be alluded to today?

The first Ghost Rider is one of the worst comic book movies ever. No easy feat, when you put it in perspective, so any news of a sequel, for me, was met with almost obscene trepidation. Now, I am still counting on this sucking, and sucking hard. Nic Cage alone almost guarantees that, but there is something working in its favor and it goes by a three worded name.

Neveldine and Taylor.

Oh yes. The guys who made the absurdly entertaining Crank movies are back, bringing their own strand of social justice or whatever it is that they do to Marvel's demonic badass. Crank was a pretty ridiculous, if formulaic, action film, and Crank 2 single handedly threw up the biggest finger to mainstream action films ever! Who knows? Maybe Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance will be passable. The trailer shows off more interesting action in its 2 minutes than was in the whole first movie, and that image at the end of Nic Cage pissing fire is weirdly awesome.

Whatever.