Trailer For GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE Suggest Nic Cage May Need Some Antibiotics

Dear Nic: While I don't speak from experience I've been told by those in the know that if you're pissing fire you should probably see a doctor. I'm just sayin'.

The directors of Crank take over Marvel's flame headed biker franchise for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the sequel to a movie that made okay money despite nobody really seeming to like it. Can they give the story the kick it needs? Well, they got Idris Elba on board, which is always a good move, but despite the generally positive reaction to the freshly released trailer I'm thinking probably not. The action is repetitive even in this short clip and, really, once you get over the fact that the guy's head is a flaming skull all you're really left with is some dodgy CGI and a limited range of tricks you can pull with an equally flaming chain.

Nicolas Cage returns as Johnny Blaze in Columbia Pictures' and Hyde Park Entertainment's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. In the successor to the worldwide hit Ghost Rider, Johnny - still struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter - is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil (Ciaran Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy - and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

Considering that Nicolas Cage flopped badly in Drive Angry - which is actually a hugely entertaining film that was blessed with a far superior marketing campaign to this - with its somewhat similar storyline I was a skeptic before this trailer released and I remain one now. What do you think? It's online now at Apple.