FUTUREWORLD

Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner

FUTUREWORLD (1976). Director: Richard T. Heffron.

Some years after a disaster in the amusement world of Delos (detailed in Westworld), the park reopens with a new attraction: Futureworld, where you can take a simulated flight into space. Newspaper reporter Chuck Browning (Peter Fonda) and TV journalist Tracy Ballard (Blythe Danner), who have a more or less friendly rivalry, are invited to be the first to visit the reopened Delos and file stories about it. Tracy thinks it's all marvelous, but Chuck got reports of something rotten going on from a former employee who was later murdered. As the two experience all the wonders of Delos, things happen that make them wonder if something much more sinister is going on. Then the reporters discover that they have been duplicated ... Futureworld is superior to Westworld, with a better plot that goes in interesting directions, and a certain degree of suspense. Fonda [Ghost Rider] and Danner are odd choices to play the main characters, but both do a good job, and Danner, an excellent actress, adds some heft to the proceedings -- she is particularly good in a scene where she is dangerously confronted by the Tracy-clone. Arthur Hill [The Andromeda Strain] is solid as the executive in charge of Delos, and John Ryan [It's Alive] is suitably grim as the head technician in the conspiracy. Stuart Margolin scores in the smaller role of Harry Kroft, a tech worker who helps Chuck and Tracy get into a certain room where there are secrets to be revealed. Yul Brynner appears as the gunslinger from Westworld, but only in a very bad dream sequence that is the worst thing in the movie, although Danner may have been happy that she got to make out with "the King." Futureworld is "soft" science fiction in that it doesn't explore its premise with any special depth. Fred Karlin's score is effective.

Verdict: For once, a superior sequel. ***.

GHOST RIDER

Nicolas Cage

GHOST RIDER (2007). Director/writer: Mark Steven Johnson.

"I feel much better now that I know I'm the devil's bounty hunter."

Stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Matt Long) makes a deal with a weird character who turns out to be Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) when he discovers that his father (Brett Cullen) is dying of cancer: his soul in exchange for his father's cure. The Devil does indeed make the elder Blaze healthy, but he still dies the next day -- after all the trickster only promised he'd cure him of his cancer, which he did. About twenty years go by and Johnny -- now played by a middle-aged Nicolas Cage -- discovers that he can transform into a character with a fiery skull riding on a sleek, high-concept motorcycle and is supposed to collect souls of evil men and send them to Satan. Trouble is, Mephistopheles' son Blackheart (Wes Bentley) is taking on dear old dad and wants Blaze to work for him, and he's got a posse of demons in long black coats and with lots of attitude to help him [although everyone's motivations seem kind of foggy.]

When Marvel's Ghost Rider comic book debuted in the 1970's Johnny was a confused twenty-something struggling with the cosmic concepts he was embroiled in and hating and conflicted by his night life as a demonic force of nature. Making the character much older doesn't make much sense -- why would Satan wait twenty years for one thing? --  especially as actor Matt Long [a "heart throb" who can also act] would have been perfect for the role, but, alas, he hasn't as bankable a name as Cage's. Cage seems to be stoned through much of the movie, and the audience may wish it was, because Ghost Rider -- despite some good effects  and design work -- is pretty much a bore with both script and direction lacking that certain veracity and elan. Eva Mendes is along for the ride as Johnny's supposed girlfriend, Roxanne. Fonda is okay as the devil, as is Wes Bentley as his son; Brett Cullen is fine as Johnny's father. Sam Elliott of Frogs fame shows up as a mystical "caretaker" and former Ghost Rider. Followed by a sequel that was even more disliked by the fans.

Verdict: A ride you need not take. *.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (2008 Telefilm)

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (2008 telefilm/Hallmark channel). Director: T. J. Scott.

Yet another version of Jules Verne's classic story, this was probably rushed out because of the Brendan Fraser theatrical version. For one thing, in both movies the entrance to the underworld is through an abandoned mine (which has nothing to do with Verne). In this a wealthy woman (Victoria Pratt) hires Jonathan Brock (Rick Schroder) and his nephew Abel (Stephen Grayhm) to go find her missing husband (in the Fraser version it's a missing brother). It seems to take forever until they're actually under the Earth, and then in five minutes -- vavoom! -- they're suddenly at the center!! There is no attempt to make the underground world look like it's actually under the Earth -- it just looks like the sunny, unremarkable outdoor location it is -- and there's no sense of wonder or atmosphere of any kind. There is one -- and only one -- good scene, and that's when they cross the lake and a gigantic plesiosaur attacks their raft. This monster is very effective and credible. But after that all you get is the missing husband -- played by Peter Fonda, of all people -- who has become the leader of a group of sub-humans. The acting in this is professional, and Pratt -- despite a somewhat irritating haughtiness -- and Mike Dopud as the big handsome Russian Sergei have a lot of presence. This is about neck and neck with the direct-to-video version made the same year, but nowhere near as good as the 1959 adaptation.

Verdict: Not worth the journey. **.