A Regretful Experience with 'Spirit Of Vengeance'.

You will learn that Johnny Blaze is back to whip you with his incinerating and ember-filled chains. You will also learn that Nicholas Cage is once again playing the fictional character. You will assume that the movie will be smothered of cheesiness and weak foundations. Good friend, you are a movie prodigy to assume of such intelligent guess. And since we are talking about devils, akin to their nature, as the ending credit rolls, you will feel cheated. Betrayed.

At this point, I easily said to myself: It was a regretful experience with 'Spirit Of Vengeance'.

Johnny Blaze (still a wasted Nicholas Cage) is forced to team up with a french mercenary (Idris Elba) and boldly attempt to barricade an approaching curse by the devil to a gypsy's young son. The gypsy, played by the  Violante Placido (The American, with George Clooney), had an odd transaction and are on the run from the devil (Ciaran Hinds)--the devil that also happened to have put Blaze under the curse.

For a movie that promises a much 'spectacular-er' version that its predecessor, 'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance' comes nothing but a failed attempt. The major complacent thing about the movie are the same sets of elements of the first one. As a result, I ease to conclude that the dismissive thoughts that its predecessor received are the same that this movie deserved.

If one wonders how it happened that 'Vengeance' became a more smothering Nic Cage movie considering that the first one was already suffocating, well lend me your eyeballs. One point: The first movie tends to have a very cheesy vibe almost similar to this one. However, the first one comes complementing that vibe and does not promise anything solid unlike today's 'Rider'. I find the writing and direction--working behind the camera, are duos who were the ones that made Crank movies possible, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor--shaky and thin.

In terms of the spectacular-ism of the effects, one wouldn't agree less. The effects were, in my opinion, better than the first one with constant whooshing of chains and different materials out of the screen. The movie at least had moments: Johnny Blaze eating ember and fire and spitting them out as steam. He even urinates some flame.

While it presents a consistent gritty view of flames and speed, the movie suffers from weakly staff and a main lead whose acting is fluctuating or worse, going downhill. 'Spirit of Vengeance' is one burning arrow to dodge unless you are a Cage enthusiast.