Ghost Rider

In the American Old West, Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) sends his bounty hunter of the damned, the Ghost Rider, to retrieve a contract for a thousand corrupt souls from the town of San Venganza. Because such a large amount of souls would cause Hell on Earth, the Rider refuses to give the contract and escapes Mephistopheles, later to hide the contract and himself. A century and a half later, Mephistopheles reaches out to seventeen-year-old stunt motorcycle rider Johnny Blaze (Matt Long/Nicolas Cage), offering to cure his father's lung cancer in exchange for Johnny's soul. Johnny inadvertently 'signs' the contract when a drop of his blood lands on it after it was pricked by Mephistopheles before Johnny could refuse. The next morning Johnny awakes to discover that his father's cancer is cured, but his father dies that same day in a motorcycle crash. Johnny accuses Mephistopheles of causing his father's death, but Mephistopheles considers their contract fulfilled. Years later, Johnny has become a stunt rider famous for surviving disastrous feats. Before a particularly dangerous new stunt, Johnny meets his childhood sweetheart Roxanne (Raquel Alessi/Eva Mendes), now a journalist, and makes a dinner date with her that evening. During the same time, Blackheart (Wes Bentley), Mephistopheles' son, comes to Earth to find the lost contract and use its power to overcome his father. To ensure himself allies, he enlists the fallen angels known as the Hidden, a trio of demon spirits who represent three of the four elements — the water-demon Wallow (Daniel Frederiksen), the earth-demon Gressil (Laurence Breuls), and the air-demon Abigor (Mathew Wilkinson). In response, Mephistopheles makes Johnny the new Ghost Rider, and revealing that it was his power that kept Johnny safe during all his stunts, offering Johnny his soul in return for defeating Blackheart. His powers as Ghost Rider revealed, Johnny is spirited off by his bike at high speed to where the contract was once buried where Blackheart arrived to find a railroad station built in its place and the graves moved to another location. Assuming his Ghost Rider form, Johnny kills Gressil while the others escape. On his way out of the station he uses his Penance Stare on a mugger, leaving the man catatonic; the mugger's victim gets away. The next day, Johnny wakes in a cemetery chapel, where he meets a man called the Caretaker (Sam Elliott), who seems to know all the history of the Ghost Rider. When he arrives home, Johnny finds Roxanne and tries to explain his situation, but she doesn't believe him. The police arrive and take Johnny into custody for his connection to the damage done to the city and the deaths caused by Blackheart, who by that time made his way to a church to find the location of the contract. After transforming in the midst of being mugged by the criminals in the cell he was placed in, Ghost Rider breaks out to track down Blackheart. He fights and kills Abigor, in full view of Roxanne and much of the police force. Observing the scene after obtaining the location of the contract, Blackheart realizes that Roxanne is Johnny's weakness. Johnny goes for advice to the Caretaker, who tells him of his predecessor, Carter Slade, a Texas Ranger known as a man of honor before his greed became a reason for him to be sentenced to death. Slade made a deal with Mephistopheles to break free; in return, Slade became the Ghost Rider who hid the contract of San Venganza. The Caretaker then warns Johnny to stay away from those whom Blackheart and the fallen angels can use against him. Johnny then returns home to find that Blackheart already has Roxanne. During their resulting fight, Johnny finds that his Penance Stare has no effect on Blackheart, who has no (human) soul. Blackheart threatens to kill Roxanne if Johnny does not deliver the contract to him. Johnny returns to the Caretaker to obtain the contract. Johnny guesses that the contract is buried in one of the graves. He picks up a shovel and starts to dig. The Caretaker snatches the shovel and breaks it, revealing the contract hidden in its hollow handle. Though reminded of the consequences, Johnny asks the Caretaker to trust him. The Caretaker then reveals that he is Carter Slade, having held on to his last bit of power in expectation of this moment. He speculates that Johnny has God on his side because he made his deal with Mephistopheles because of love rather than greed or desperation, and shows Johnny the way to San Venganza. They ride together into the desert, both in Ghost Rider form; Slade is riding a supernatural horse which can keep up with Johnny's motorcycle, incinerating a lizard on a rock as they pass (a reference to Cage's earlier film, Raising Arizona). They stop a short distance from the town, where Slade gives Johnny his pump-action shotgun and the warning to "stick to the shadows" before fading away. After killing Wallow, who was sent to stall for time, Johnny gives the contract to Blackheart. He quickly transforms into Ghost Rider in an effort to subdue Blackheart, but dawn comes and he is rendered powerless. Blackheart uses the contract to absorb the thousand souls into his body, taking the name "Legion". He attempts to kill Johnny, but is distracted when Roxanne uses Johnny's discarded shotgun to separate them. After she fails to destroy Legion, Johnny takes the gun and moves into shadows to turn the shotgun into a supernatural weapon and uses it to blast Legion apart. Legion re-forms, but Johnny moves in and uses his Penance Stare, made effective by the thousand souls inhabiting Legion's body, to render him catatonic. Johnny turns away from Roxanne, ashamed of his monstrous appearance; but she approaches him. As Roxanne strokes Johnny's bare skull, he reverts to human form. Mephistopheles appears and gives Johnny back his soul, offering to relieve him of the burden of being a Ghost Rider. Johnny refuses, saying that he will use his power against Mephistopheles, to protect the innocent and avenge his father. Infuriated of being robbed of the power, Mephistopheles vows to make Johnny pay, to which Johnny in response recites his favorite saying: "You can't live in fear". Mephistopheles then disappears, and Blackheart's body dissipates with him. Johnny and Roxanne share words and a kiss at a tree marked to symbolize their relationship, whereupon Johnny rides into the sunset. Slade's voice then acts as narrator to close the film.