Judging from the mood of the theater I was in, the consensus of this film was "...."
Yep, the pacing and storytelling of the film was so bad that it's actually hard to appreciate the plot, and even the action scenes. The otherwise simple plot becomes a task and even a bore to follow due to the bad editing and pace of the story. Things that are supposed to hit home through a joke, or a "Wow!" action scene, fail to do so either because you've gotten lost in all the distractions the film throws at you, or you just merely lost interest due to the lackluster story telling.
It's quite a shame in my opinion that there were many scenes that were supposed to evoke emotion, that just did not. It's hard to comprehend how these scenes fail, when in the back of your head, you actually know that in another occasion, that scene should've been really bad-ass, or really funny. Better editing and better character development would've made the movie easier to follow, and would've given meaning to all the great visuals and occasional funniness the film has.
Now how does it compare to the first? Dare I say Apples and Oranges? The first was coherent and easy to understand but way too cheesy and campy (lacked action too), while this one was heavy and slow with a lot of zany visuals and camera work. Both seem to want to achieve completely different results from an audience that it's actually difficult to say which one's better.
If you're looking for great eye-candy, and whack visuals, then Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance delivers. As a complete entertainment experience though, it falls flat.
