Motorcycle stuntman, Johnny Blaze, sells his soul to a dark force to save his father. But when the bargain goes sour and his childhood sweetheart's life was threaten, Blaze is transformed, gaining raging superpowers. Based on the Marvel comic series.

The idea of the dark, brooding vigilante has been explored in many comic books and movies. "Batman Begins", "Spider-Man" and "Hellboy" (known locally as "Super Sapiens") are more or less based on the same theme. And "Ghost Rider", another colourful character brought to life from the Marvel comics stable by director Mark Steven Johnson, reeks of his 2003 "Daredevil" and the 2005 "Elektra" which were largely roasted by critics and shunned by cinema-goers.

However, after sitting through the first half-hour of the movie, it is clear that Johnson has gotten his act together for this one. He has learnt from the mistakes of "Daredevil" and "Elektra" and has redeemed himself with "Ghost Rider", a tale about a stunt rider seeking a second chance after selling his soul to the Devil. Ironically, this is also the redemptive 'second chance' for Johnson as film-maker.

Young Johnny Blaze (Matt Long) is a carnival motorcycle stuntman who discovers that his father (Brett Cullen) is dying of cancer. In a bid to save his dad, Johnny makes a pact with the Devil (Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles), trading his soul for the old man's health. However, something goes wrong with the deal and Johnny (now played by Nicolas Cage) is left wondering if he really has a charmed life or whether a 'guardian angel' is looking after him as he manages to survive all manner of crazy stunts.

Of course, Mephistopheles is still calling the shots and soon Johnny is transformed into the Ghost Rider, a hell-blazing vigilante on two wheels. This is all part of the Devil's plan to get Johnny to take down his power-hungry son Blackheart (Wes Bentley) who wants to usurp the Devil's throne. Blackheart soon learns about Johnny's weakness - his love for his childhood sweetheart Roxanne (Eva Mendes) who is now a TV reporter. In his battles against Blackheart and the Devil, Johnny finds an ally in the Caretaker (Sam Elliot), a mysterious guardian of a cemetery who may be holding the secret that the evil villains seek.

The plot structure, about the legend of Mephistopheles and a ledger book of souls, seems cliched and trite, even according to comic book standards. However, Johnson manages to overcome this by making Johnny Blaze human and realistic - transforming him seamlessly from motorcycle-rider to fiery vigilante. For this, we have to thank Cage whose portrayal of the vengeful protagonist is both credible and sympathetic.

The special effects, especially of skulls and other stuff bursting into flames, are fantastic and mind-boggling. But what is most important is that the technical effects are never allowed to overwhelm the narrative. Johnson keeps a fine balance between stunts and story flow and even throws in humour and wit every now and then. We can feel the energy and fun even if we can't stomach the supernatural conceits.

Also, there is chemistry in the romantic tangles between Johnny and Roxanne and they should delight the women in the audience. Mendes, as an Everywoman caught in an unbelievable mess, lends solid support although her role is not quite as demanding as Cage's. It is also amazing that the casting department has managed to find lookalikes for Cage and Mendes in Long and Raquel Alessi, respectively.

All in all, "Ghost Rider" is a well-made effort which should appeal to fans of the comic book as well as the casual cinema-goer seeking top class entertainment.

There were more people at the preview of this movie than yesterday's screening of "Dreamgirls". Yet "Dreamgirls" was the better film by all counts. Either "Ghost Rider" has a harder-working publicity department or Nicholas Cage and FX just draws crowds.

This is not to say that the film wasn't good. It was fast-moving enough, there was a plausible story - as plausible as legends go according to the original Ghost Rider comic book, the effects are amazing, and I am a fan of Nicholas Cage. Yet... something is missing.

Let's figure out what. "Ghost Rider" opens by plunging us straight into the pages of the comic with a prologue of the myth narrated by Sam Elliot (whose rich southern drawl can be recognised anywhere). For those unfamiliar with Marvel's western-themed fable of the devil's bounty hunter: a long time ago, a gun-slinging horseman made a foolish pact with Mephistopheles (aka Satan seen as Peter Fonda in boots) to bring him a contract for all the tortured souls of the Mexican town of San Venganza. The righteous cowboy comes to in the nick of time and decides that - at whatever the cost, even if it is to walk the earth forever - he must never hand the contract over. To cheat Satan, he jumps on his trusty horse and runs. "Legend has it that he outran the devil," finishes Elliot.

Fast forward to the present day and we see a young motorcycle stunt hero called Johnny Blaze who rides stunt bikes in a carnival with his father. On discovering that his old man has terminal cancer, Johnny signs over his soul to Mephistopheles in exchange for his father's health. The father is cured the next morning but the devil deceives Johnny immediately afterwards. This leaves Johnny trapped. He must now leave everything he has ever known before - his family, his childhood sweetheart and his home - to spend the rest of his life alone and in fear of the devil's inevitable call.

Fast forward a little bit more and we see an older Johnny Blaze (Nicholas Cage) risking his life with crazier and more impossible stunts almost like he's desperate to kill himself. Every accident he gets himself in, he survives without a scratch. By now it has dawned on Johnny that he can't be killed and he wonders what he is being saved for.

He soon gets his answer when Mephistopheles' rebellious son Blackheart turns up to usurp his father's position as the ruler of the netherworld. Blackheart summons up his motley team of rogue monsters representing the natural elements of water, wind and earth to defeat his father and to collect the long overdue contract of San Venganza. Mephistopheles, in turn, sends for the Ghost Rider, his creation for fire, and Johnny is bound to do the devil's bidding by becoming his one-man army and bounty hunter. Along the way, his childhood sweetheart Roxanne (Eva Mendes) shows up and complicates things even further.

This is not a difficult story to understand and I suspect every viewer will thank Mark Steven Johnson for this. At least he's done a better job this time than his previous outing with the "Daredevil" which failed at the box office. Johnson has given us a thrill of a ride with an explosive visual display of effects. The scenes of the impossible motorcycle stunts, the Ghost Rider exploding into a flaming skull or riding vertically up a skyscraper in a trail of fire are nothing short of spectacular but something is still missing; and that I think is - tension. You don't feel your heart jumping to your throat every time Johnny risks his life. Even when he does a daredevil stunt of shooting his bike over spinning helicopters lined across a football field, you know our main man is going to make it. And that flaming skull? The first time it happens, you are awed. But do it one time too many with that Penance Stare of his and it gets repetitive. Even the climactic fight at the end with all the hell demons in the world doesn't really blow you away. You're not rooting for the hero nor are you cringing in your seat.

Is it Cage's fault then? Actually, there's nothing wrong with Cage being cast as the superhero rider. In his dyed jet black hair, the 43-year-old looks younger than his age and still has muscles to show. As the 'inexorable force of hellfire', he is as cool as ever being funny yet tragic and a little off-centre as usual. Apparently Cage was the one who, on his own, added the little idiosyncrasies to his character such as his penchant for Karen Carpenter and jellybeans. It's to layer up what even he probably realises - that Johnny Blaze is too two-dimensional. Mendes as Roxanne is good on her own but as Johnny's love interest, they do not have chemistry. And that's ironic because their love is supposed to be the burning impetus that drives Johnny to do what he does. But for all the heat that Johnny generates throughout, there's nary a spark between them. In the end, none of what Johnny does or feels grabs the audience's heart, and therein lies this movie's failing. It lacks a soul. (Maybe it's because Johnny sold it to the devil).

"Ghost Rider" is a popcorn movie, great for entertainment and great for fun but it's instantly forgettable by the time you walk out of the cinema.