Which of the two 'Ghost Rider' movies was your personal favorite?

I watched a pretty good comic book-related movie the other day, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.” Released in February, it’s a sequel to 2007’s “Ghost Rider.” If you liked the first “Ghost Rider” movie, you’ll probably enjoy the sequel.

Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” is rated PG-13 and is an hour and 35 minutes long. Actor Nicolas Cage returns in his role as Johnny Blaze, aka, the Ghost Rider. The movie also stars Fergus Riordan, Ciaran Hines, Christopher Lambert, Violante Placido and Idris Elba.

In this film, Blaze is living in Eastern Europe, where he’s trying to control the effects of his deal with the devil, which causes him to transform into the Ghost Rider. He eventually finds himself in a battle against dark forces that are trying to kidnap an unusual young boy. Blaze teams up with the boy’s mother, and they work together to prevent the devil from taking human form.

I’ve read that not everyone liked this movie, and that more than a few critics turned their noses up at it. I must admit that I enjoyed the first Ghost Rider movie more than I did “Spirit of Vengeance,” but this isn’t to say that “Spirit of Vengeance” didn’t have some redeeming qualities. The special effects were above average, and the fight scenes were unusual and interesting. Also, despite the negative reviews, the movie performed well at the box office. Against a shooting budget of $57 million, this film raked in box office revenues of over $132 million.

Movies like the Ghost Rider films bring back childhood memories. There was a time when I pretty much read nothing but comic books, and the Ghost Rider comics were among my favorites. Created by writers Gary Friedrich and Roy Thomas and artist Mike Ploog, Ghost Rider first appeared in Marvel Spotlight No. 5, which was released in August 1972. Despite his deal with the devil, what wasn’t there to like about the Ghost Rider? He was superhumanly strong and durable, healed quickly and let’s not forget his trademark flaming motorcycle and “enchanted Hellfire chain.”

I’m not alone in my love for the Ghost Rider. In May 2011, the entertainment website, IGN, which often covers comic book-related topics, ranked the Ghost Rider at No. 90 on its list of “Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.” (Superman was No. 1 on the list. Batman was No. 2. Go figure.)

If you haven’t seen the first Ghost Rider movie, I recommend it too. It was released five years to the day before “Spirit of Vengeance” and starred Cage, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, Peter Fonda and Wes Bentley. The first Ghost Rider movie was also rated PG-13, and Cage, who has a Ghost Rider tattoo, wrote portions of the script.

In the end, how may of you have seen “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or dislike it? Why? What was your favorite part? Let us know in the comments section below.