With Spirit of Vengeance, the legend of Johnny Blaze continues; a daredevil stuntman who makes a deal with the devil to save his father’s life and is subsequently possessed by a demon called “Ghost Rider”. Blaze has been living his existence as far away from humanity as possible when he’s tasked by a group of ancient monks to save a young boy, the son of Satan. In exchange for his help the monks will lift his curse and give him freedom from the demon. With the help of the constantly-drunk-on-wine Moreau and the beautiful but woefully stupid Nadya, he must keep the boy safe from Roarke (AKA Satan) played by the scenery-chewing Ciarán Hinds.

If there is one positive thing I can say about Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance it’s that it knows exactly what it is and never takes itself seriously. The sequel to the universally panned Ghost Rider ups the action ante by adding directors Neveldine and Taylor to the mix. As you’d expect from the crazy kids behind Crank and Gamer you get quick cuts, ridiculous action, and one seriously unrestrained Nic Cage giving his most WTF since Captain Corelli.

You might think that all of what I’m saying adds up to one damn entertaining film and if you’re a fan what Neveldine and Taylor do you might be right; but for me, Ghost Rider fails. Did I laugh? Yes, but for all the wrong reasons. Cage’s hammy, over-the-top performance and some of the most ridiculous dialogue in recent film memory will cause you to chuckle; but by no means does that make it a good film. It’s only a tiny step, if a step at all, up from the original

Ghost Rider deals with adult themes that don’t lend themselves to the PG-13 rating very well. It’s painfully obvious where the directors were forced to cut corners in order to avoid an R rating. If your going to give the task of making a story with a ridiculous premise to two filmmakers who have a history of making batshit crazy films why not let them go all the way? Part of me hopes that that they’ll reboot this franchise and give it the treatment it deserves; the other part hopes they let the rider die in peace.

Ghost Rider gets 1.5 out of 5 or 1 six pack to make this piece of celluloid palatable.