10 "Awful" Comic Book Movies Worth A Second Chance

5. Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance

Nicolas Cage is a huge comic nerd. Not wanting to trade on a famous last name (Coppola), his stage name of Cage came from Marvel superhero Luke Cage. So it's little surprise that Cage's major aspiration in his acting career was to play a superhero. After years of campaigning for Superman and Iron Man, Cage finally got his wish when he was cast as John Blaze in the first Ghost Rider film. It was an awful movie that not even Sam Elliot could help salvage. So when a sequel was announced, many, myself included, were apprehensive. For this new version, though, Mark Steven Johnson was replaced by the directing duo of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Bringing in the guys responsible for over-the-top, balls-out movies like Crank was the perfect choice for Ghost Rider. Cage is still far from being synonymous with Blaze and he still gives in to some of the more "not the bees!"-esque moments he's become known for in recent years (plus the stories about him using voodoo magic to prepare for the role). Still, he at least dropped the southern accent and he's got a much stronger supporting cast. Idris Elba is excellent in everything he does, Johnny Whitworth's Blackout is a far more effective villain than Wes Bentley's Blackout, and it's fun to see Christopher Lambert and Anthony Stewart Head in small roles. Spirit of Vengeance is hardly on the level of The Dark Knight, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun.
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Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com