Johnny Blaze (Nicholas Cage) returns in the Marvel property, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and if you thought the first film was a little haphazard, you haven’t seen anything yet. Cage is a little more unhinged in this outing, and despite offering Peter Fonda a chance to reprise his role of Mephistopheles, the legendary actor turned it down after reading five pages.

That of course means that a bit of the backstory for Blaze had to change, in this case, he still did what he did to help his father, but this time he signed a contract with the demonic Roarke (Ciaran Hinds).

Fleeing his darkness, Blaze ends up in Eastern Europe and soon finds himself in another supernatural mess. It seems Roarke has a son, born through a human woman, Nadya (Violante Placido), named Danny (Fergus Riordan) who can be used as a new corporeal form for Roarke when the boy has turned thirteen, and a proper ceremony takes place.

So Roarke wants the boy, but he’s not the only player on the field. A collection of monks led by Benedict (Anthony Head) has been keeping him safe, but Moreau (Idris Elba) thinks they need to move him somewhere safer.

He makes this statement just as Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth) arrives. A mercenary hired by Roarke to track down and recover Danny, he begins a long protracted pursuit of Nadya and Danny even as Moreau seeks out the Rider.

He confronts Blaze and tells him that if he helps save the boy, he knows a collection of monks, led by Methodius (Christopher Lambert) who will be able to remove Blaze’s curse and restore his soul.

So the hunt begins, and confrontation upon confrontation leads to a final choice for Johnny, accepting his fate, and trying to do good with the evil that is infesting him.

Sounds like a fairly solid film right? Especially with that cast. But honestly, it comes across as dull and plodding, and the action sequences are downright lethargic. The visual effects work on the Rider is pretty decent, though I think he looked a little better in the first film. I do like how his clothes are burnt, and there’s more smoke around him, but his skull doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as alight as it was in the previous film or as it appears in comics.

I do like Cage as Blaze, I’m not gonna lie about that at all, and honestly, I’d love to see the character brought back for a proper introduction into the MCU, but this sequel, which could have been something is just a little too dull and weak to hold the attention.