8. Nicolas Cage Vs Mephistopheles - Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance (2011)
Courtesy of a Faustian pact, Ghost Rider can transform into a flaming skeleton, urinate fire and.well, thats about it. When Mephistopheles arrives to find his baby momma, whose offspring will usher in a dark age, whos the one person that can stop him? For a fellow who (as Robert Johnson will tell you) always takes his due, this Prince of Darkness is not only nonthreatening, hes suspiciously easy to defeat. Given how he engineered some of Mankinds darkest atrocities, from the Third Reich to The Kardashians, are we really expected to believe Cage can beat him in a fight and send him back where he belongs? Well, yes. But thats probably due to economic pressures because in this sequel hes played by Ciaran Hinds rather than Peter Fonda. Even Hades is feeling the pinch. Economic forces likely were responsible for the occasionally unconvincing effects, too, though it was a very human hand that turned such lines as, Bullets dont hurt you when you walk with a demon.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
