Neither Venom nor Madame Web: Rated 1.5 out of 5 This is one of the worst superhero movies ever made and it was played by an action star who will never play the role again.

Some films exist mainly to protect the rights of a character rather than to tell an actual story. That’s exactly what happened with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Adapted from the Marvel comics, this second installment disappointed both critics and the public, with an AlloCiné audience rating of 1.5 out of 5 and only a 1.8 out of 5 from the specialist press.

In the late 2000s, Sony, which owned the film rights to the demon biker, found itself in a delicate situation. A legal battle between Marvel and other parties over the authorship of the comic book character, And Marvel wins. At the same time, Sony risks losing its rights if new films are not produced quickly. So the decision was made: to relaunch Ghost Rider on the big screen, not out of artistic ambition, but to protect its rights.

The first movieReleased in 2007 with Nicolas Cage, it did not convince critics, but earned a good income. For this sequel, the studio drastically reduced the budget: from the first film’s 110 million, Spirit of Vengeance It has only 58 million, of which 7 million is reserved for Cage’s salary. The director of the first part, Mark Stephen Johnson, is replaced by the duo Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, known for Hyper Tension.

Defeat… but not for everyone!

The result is no illusion: viewers criticize the film for uneven performance Nicolas CageWeak plot, mediocre special effects and confusing staging. At the box office, the film earned $132.5 million worldwide, nearly $100 million less than its predecessor. A high-profile fiasco, but one with unexpected consequences for Marvel.

Thanks to this failure, rights Ghost RiderPreviously a Sony property, it eventually returned to Marvel, as did Punisher (Lionsgate) and Blade (New Line). Kevin Feige, head of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, confirmed in May 2013 that the studio could freely exploit these characters in the Avengers universe. Daredevil and the Punisher will find their place on Netflix, Blade is slated for an upcoming movie that, while off the schedule, will remain relevant according to Kevin Feige, and Ghost Rider will return… to the small screen played by Gabriel Luna in the fourth season of Agents of SHIELD.

finally, Ghost Rider 2 It will be remembered as an example of a film produced for legal and commercial reasons rather than a creative one, but which paradoxically allowed Marvel to recover one of its iconic heroes.

For those curious, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is available on Canal+.