Ghost Rider

Johnny Blaze is a stunt motorcyclist who sacrifices everything to try to save his dying father, making a deal with Mephistopheles that ends his relationship with Roxanne, the woman he loves. Years later he's still haunted by that bargain, and a darker persona called the Ghost Rider appears when vengeance is needed. When Mephistopheles returns with an offer tied to an ancient conflict between demons, Johnny must weigh his own freedom against the violent power he now controls. The film follows his attempts to protect Roxanne while grappling with the consequences of selling his soul.

Released in 2007 and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, Ghost Rider adapts the Marvel Comics antihero for the big screen. Nicolas Cage leads a cast that includes Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott and Peter Fonda. The movie blends stunt-driven action with supernatural fantasy, translating the comic's visual iconography into live action and extensive visual effects.

Critics were divided, and audience scores landed around a mid-range reception, the film holding a vote average of 5.6 out of 10. Reviewers praised Cage's committed performance and the concept's dark morality, while many faulted the pacing, script and heavy use of CGI. Major themes include sacrifice, identity and the price characters pay for wielding destructive power.

Visually, the flaming skull and hellfire motorcycle stuck in the public imagination, and Nicolas Cage's performance was often imitated and spoofed. The film helped push the antihero archetype further into mainstream cinema, and its look and tone have been referenced in television, advertising and online culture, even among viewers who were critical of its execution.

The movie opened widely and attracted mainstream audiences, translating into strong ticket sales that supported the studio's investment in special effects and genre filmmaking. Its commercial turnout showed there was appetite for darker comic-book adaptations, influencing subsequent studio choices about which properties to develop.