Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider Returns to Free Streaming

Nicolas Cage holds an uncontested spot at the top of comic book fandom. He took his stage name from Marvel’s Luke Cage to stand apart from his famous uncle, and he named one of his sons Kal-El after Superman’s Kryptonian birth name. His personal comic collection once reached millions of dollars in value, highlighted by an original copy of Action Comics #1. Cage also stands as the only actor to play both Superman and a version of Spider-Man on screen.

Cage also brought Johnny Blaze to life across two live-action Ghost Rider films. While both entries turned a profit at the box office and featured strong supporting ensembles including Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda, Sam Elliott, Idris Elba, Christopher Lambert, and the late Anthony Head, viewers and critics spent the following fifteen years picking them apart. The descriptor “lifeless” appeared frequently across contemporary reviews.

A bad film featuring Nicolas Cage rarely plays like an ordinary failure. Even during his roughest career stretches, when he accepted rapid-fire roles to settle back taxes, Cage committed completely to every performance. He swings between meme status and cinematic brilliance without ever holding back.

That level of commitment gives the Ghost Rider duology its enduring appeal. Both films are currently streaming for free on Tubi. With Marvel planning another take on Johnny Blaze starring Ryan Gosling, revisiting Cage’s run offers a look back at an earlier comic adaptation era.

The 2007 original opens in 1986, following young motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze as he strikes a deal with the demon Mephisto to cure his father’s cancer. The father survives the illness, only to perish in an unrelated stunt crash the following morning.

Twenty years later, Johnny has grown into a renowned stunt performer while remaining bound to Mephisto. The demon calls in the debt after his son Blackheart, played by Yellowstone actor Wes Bentley, arrives on Earth to find a lost contract that could unseat his father. Mephisto turns Johnny into the Ghost Rider, a flaming-skulled spirit of vengeance tasked with eliminating Blackheart.

Compared to other comic book adaptations of that period, Ghost Rider stayed remarkably close to its source material. Blade heavily reimagined its hero from his original Tomb of Dracula roots, and Ang Lee’s Hulk combined fresh storylines with several separate comic arcs. Ghost Rider swapped Johnny’s comic mentor Crash Simpson for his biological father, but the story remained easily recognizable to comic readers. The 2011 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, took greater liberties by casting Danny Ketch as a young child instead of Johnny’s long-lost brother.

The original movie has clear flaws. The demonic villains often resemble a touring metal band rather than ancient terrors, and the digital effects from 2007 show their age. The flaming skull frequently looks like an animated graphic from a late-1990s Geocities site. Smaller-budget productions from the previous decade managed sharper visual trickery.

Cage’s intense delivery carries the viewing experience. He fully sells the torment of a man combusting from within, delivering high-energy facial performances that rank among his most memorable screen moments. The film might have aged better had it relied on practical effects or full animation.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance worked with a smaller budget and weaker villains, leaving it with fewer redeeming qualities. Even so, anyone looking to see Cage commit whole-heartedly to flaming supernatural chaos will find plenty of entertainment across both movies.

Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance are currently streaming on Tubi.

Source: Polygon