Bookending their Comic-Con presentation this weekend by a title that read “fucking your shit up in 3D February 2012,” the “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor certainly aren’t mincing words about the visual blitzkrieg they’re planning for the upcoming comic sequel. Holding on to moving motorcycles wearing only rollerblades and generally disregarding their personal safety all in the name of capturing action sequences in their distinct visual style, if anything, ‘Ghost Rider’ promises — for better or worse — to be unlike any comic movie we’ve ever seen. But as anyone who has seen their “Crank” movies knows, trying to nail down what they do on film with a single still is pretty much impossible so don’t get too bummed at static nature of these first look pics from the film.
Empire magazine (via The Film Stage) has dropped a couple peeks at the film and if you ever wanted to see Stringer Bell with crazy eyes riding a motorcycle, today is your day. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth and Christopher Lambert in the sequel that catches up with Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Cage), hiding out in remote Eastern Europe, struggling to repress his curse. However, he is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son’s body on the boy’s birthday. Worst. Birthday. Ever.
Honestly, the plot will probably be pretty secondary to Neveldine/Taylor jumping out of trees or throwing cameras down sewers or whatever it is they do when they direct a movie. Yes, the “Crank” movies are kind of inventive and enjoyable but their ADD-addled style almost wears off after about twenty minutes and it’s all kind of downhill from there. But if you’re wondering if more tweaked out adventures are on the way from that the franchise, the answer appears to be yes.
MovieWeb caught up with actor Efren Ramirez at Comic-Con, and as a regular Neveldine/Taylor player appearing in all their films to date (except ‘Ghost Rider’), he revealed that a third “Crank” movie is in the works that is not Jason Statham dependent. “Mark and Brian, who are here [at Comic-Con] for ‘Ghost Rider 2’ as well, are possibly going to be talking about ‘Crank 3,’” said Ramirez. “Either a ‘Crank 3’ going forward with Jason Statham or going back with a prequel.”
While we sort of don’t care if we ever see another “Crank” movie in our lives, if they get Nic Cage to star, we’ll be there is a fucking (rapid) heartbeat. “Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance” opens on February 17, 2012.
