Ghost Rider - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Extended Cut)

Sony, 123 min, Unrated

DVD $34.95

When we saw Ghost Rider in the theater my husband really enjoyed it so there was no way we could pass up the extended version when it came out. Not being that much of a Nicholas Cage fan, I kept imaging how it would have worked if Johnny Depp had played the part as originally planned; but, that aside, it was an enjoyable 2 hours and the special effects were tremendous.

The basic story follows motorcycle riding Johnny Blaze who makes a deal with Mephistopheles (wonderfully portrayed by Peter Fonda) to save his father’s life. As deals with the devil are wont to turn out, Johnny’s father dies anyway but Johnny still owes his debt and thus becomes the Ghost Rider.

The story is basically the origin story of the Ghost Rider character, presumably as a first in a series of movies. While the story is somewhat predictable the special effects are fantastic. The extended version has several additional scenes towards the beginning giving us some more character background and, best of all, more of Peter Fonda’s Mephistopheles.

Special features include the “Spirit of Vengeance: The Making of Ghost Rider” documentary; “Sin & Salvation” - a featurette on the comic book origins of Ghost Rider; a trio of Ghost Rider animatics; and the usual film commentary with the as well as VFX Supervisor Kevin Mack, and producer Gary Foster. We had the DVD out at open house and the consensus was the extras were fun.

All in all, a worthy addition to our DVD collection. - Stephanie L Bannon