Ghostrider: D+ Extras: F

Nicolas Cage sold his soul all right. But it wasn't in exchange for a good movie.\n"Ghost Rider" is based on the story of Marvel comic character Johnny Blaze (Cage), who strikes a deal with the devil in order to save his dying father. But when the the devil doublecrosses Johnny, and his father dies in a motorcycle exhibition accident, Johnny devotes his efforts to young sweetheart Roxanne Simpson (Eva Mendes). With the help of the Caretaker (Sam Elliott), Blaze tries to win his soul back so he can spend he rest of his life with Roxanne.\nIt's a shame that such an undeniably interesting story was turned into a butchered movie. "Ghost Rider" was too long (about 2 hours) and the plot didn't unfold fast enough. It took over an hour for Cage to realize he was the ghost rider, and Mendes didn't have nearly a big enough role. She appeared in scattered scenes throughout the movie, which is not enough for someone of her caliber. The movie also lacked enough good action sequences.\nWhat saved "Ghost Rider" from being a complete waste were the Caretaker and the overall message of the story. Sam Elliott gave a beautiful performance, playing the insightful cowboy who occasionally throws in a good joke or two. And you can't knock Blaze for trying to save his dad. Selling a soul for love instead of greed is different from the norm, and and the ending put the story together beautifully. But it was way too dragged out, and keeping the movie playing until the end is a challenge.\nAlso, you would think that a DVD with a second disc devoted entirely to extras would be worth checking out -- but don't waste your time. There are three "making of the movie" segments, but one of them is just the animation with music and no insight from the director or producer. The director's commentary was fairly insightful, but watching the movie once was painful enough, let alone watching it again with a discussion of how the ideas came about.\nDon't waste your time on this Marvel mistake.