Every ten to fifteen years or so, Hollywood dips into its vault and releases new adaptations of films or television shows that have long since left the big or small screen. The superhero genre is no different.
In this post, I’m going to talk about two 2000’s superhero movies and why they either worked or didn’t work.
The first movie is Spider-man (2002). Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is your average academically overachieving, socially underachieving high school student. He has a crush on Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), the girl next door. But she does not see him. When Peter is bitten by a genetically modified spider, he becomes Spiderman and must learn the lesson that every Spiderman fan knows: “with great power, comes great responsibility”. Can Peter, with his new power, find the man who killed his uncle and prevent an eccentric billionaire from terrorizing the city?
I’m not normally a fan of the genre, but I liked this movie. Every character is well cast and fits well into the Spiderman universe. Unlike his superhero brothers in arms (Batman, Superman, etc), Spiderman is the boy next door/average Joe/underdog. He does not have the fortune that Bruce Wayne has, nor does he have the extraterrestrial powers that Superman possesses. Rather, he uses his intelligence to fight and create the persona that is Spiderman.
The second movie is Ghost Rider (2007).
When Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) finds out that his father is dying from cancer, he makes a deal to save his father. Johnny will give up his soul to prevent his father from dying. The deal is soon made with Mephistopheles and broken when his father dies in a motorcycle accident. Heartbroken, Johnny walks away from everything and everyone, including his girlfriend, Roxanne (Eva Mendes). Years pass and Johnny becomes a famous motorcyclist. He runs into Roxanne, who works as a TV reporter. But Mephistopheles is not done with Johnny. If Johnny is willing to become the “Ghost Rider” and defeat Mephistopheles’s evil son Blackheart (Wes Bentley), then Johnny will be free of the contract he signed years ago.
What can I say about this movie? It’s not good. Nicolas Cage has not made a decent movie in years. The poster, especially the depiction of Ghost Rider carrying who the audience might perceive to be an unconscious Roxanne is not taken from any specific scene. Riding on the coattails of its fellow superhero movies, this film and its sequel (which is just as bad) just does nothing for me as a filmgoer.
Do I recommend them? Yes and no. I do recommend Spiderman, but not Ghost Rider
Share this:
Writergurlny 
7 thoughts on “Throwback Thursday- Superhero Double Feature- Spider-man (2002) & Ghost Rider 2007)”