6. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
Ranking alongside Elektra as one of Marvel's most effortless screen adaptations is
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which goes a way towards making the first film in the series look like it was written and directed by Christopher Nolan by comparison. It's a shame as hiring Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor of
Crank fame should have imparted the film with the anarchic spirit needed to make it a fun, fast ride, but their over-direction renders most of the action difficult to follow, and the plot is as close to non-existent as you're likely to see. What really surprised, though, was the lazy, phoned-in effort by Nicolas Cage in the title role, for given his brilliant work as psychopaths throughout his career, one would expect the absolute absurdity he is saddled with here to play to his strengths. The script is partly at fault, as it doesn't give Cage enough moments to shine and show off how thoroughly demented he can be. Even the appearance of Christopher Lambert as a bald, tattooed monk - now THAT'S dedication - helps things along, and the likes of Idris Elba and Ciaran Hinds essentially embarrass themselves by being complicit in this absolute waste of time and energy, which nevertheless did make well over double its budget back, to my complete amazement. The only thing this film did is remind me that, yes, Marvel can stoop lower than Elektra.