Rating: Summary: One of my all time favs. Review: Now I can admit that this is not the greatest film of all time, but I love it. As a kid I used to read the comics in the news paper from the Phantom. When I heard that this movie was coming out, I taped the trailers from it so I could watch them over and over. I went the day it came out to see it and they gave out rings just like the Phantom. Since then I lossed the ring and the movie brings back good memories from when I was a kid.
Rating: Summary: nice! Review: i grew up reading the phantom's adventures and recently saw this dvd. i love this movie! nice job!
Rating: Summary: Too weak to be a superhero. Review: The movie started O.K. but went nowhere after that. The problem is with the weak superhero character who enjoys taking taxi rides. The script was very bad and so was the acting, except for that of Treat Williams and Catherine Zeta Jones. Given the technology available at the time, the special effects were horrible. It is a shame that a good comic strip was butchered in this fashion, which will definitely prevent a sequel from ever being made.
Rating: Summary: Where Is The Awe-Inspiring Hero of the Comics? Review: I always liked the character of the Phantom, but this movie was a disappointment. It starts out fine, but then after the opening episode it goes flat. The biggest problem for me was the portrayal of the character of the Phantom himself. He has always been presented in the comics as a powerful, mysterious, awe-inspiring, larger-than-life LEGEND...THE GHOST WHO WALKS...the 400-year-old MAN WHO CANNOT DIE!!! But Billy Zane plays him--or was directed to play him--as a low-key, friendly, smiling "galoot" of an all-American-boy-type. He seemed like an overgrown teenager, eager to please, undercutting his manliness. No forcefulness or charismatic presence at all. Remember how Batman was an exciting presence in the Michael Keaton movies? There was always a buzz of electricity when Batman was on the screen. THAT'S how you do it. There was none of that here. Yeah, he did heroic things, one stunt or another, but he was just a guy in a funny costume...not THE PHANTOM! No wonder there hasn't been a demand for a sequel in these eight years.
BTW...I'll NEVER understand how anyone can wear a skin-tight head-to-toe costume in the hot, steaming jungle. But if we can accept Batman's heavy suit and cloak in Gotham City in August, I guess we can let the Phantom slide.
Rating: Summary: A Hero movie that is...just that! Review: Well, The Phantom is a real hero movie and does not pretend to be an amazing piece of cinema crafting in its script BUT its quality is still high.
Billy Zane is the Phantom like Toby Mc Guire is Spiderman. Some people are born for such roles. I have seen movies in 5 countries regularly and know quality by seing the whole of the product not just a piece of it: The Phantom is a superb mixture of adventure, imagination, courage and noble ideas as well as great entertainment. The action and the music mekes you want to save the day...Take it for what it is: a hero movie for people that dig hero thinking...I do!
Rating: Summary: One Of The Finest Adventure Films Ever Made Review: If you're in the market for a big film about an adventure hero
that the entire family can enjoy time and again, then THE PHANTOM
is a standout choice. Released in 1996, the Paramount blockbuster
commemorated the 60th anniversary of Lee Falk's classic comic
strip about "The Ghost Who Walks" and his fearless escapades,
crowning the special achievement in grand style.
Smart enough to place this film solidly in the 1930s, director
Simon Wincer and scriptwriter Jeffrey Boam deliver a powerhouse
roller-coaster ride which sweeps us around the world and back
again. Its larger-than-life exploits well-reflected by the
superb symphonic soundtrack of David Newman, THE PHANTOM
is a globetrotting delight of swashbuckling derring-do. From
the deeps of Africa to New York City, further into uncharted
waters and undisclosed powers, the film is a dynamite
blend of cliffhanger and coming-of-age thriller, with
just the right touch of love story imperiled to stir the
pot even finer.
With Kristy Swanson feisty and formidible as the strip's
longtime female lead, and hearty nemesis Catherine
Zeta-Jones displaying the depth & dash which has since
propelled her career into the highest honors and many
hallmark performances, this film leaves you breathless.
Add Treat Williams, cute but dangerously cutting as THE
PHANTOM's arch-nemesis, along with legendary master
Patrick McGoohan adding a gleefully tart literal touch
to the legend of "The Ghost Who Walks", and the drama
gets even deeper.
Give up the ultimate props to Billy Zane in the highly
demanding lead role, which he delivers with a vengeance.
Dynamic in wit, disarming in charm, and a dramatic
knockout as THE PHANTOM, Zane's performance conveys
the innocence of thecharacter, and the conviction of
his struggle, without turning him into a campy,
lantern-jawed lummox a la Adam West.
As physically prepared as he was dramatically equipped
for the horse-riding, canyon-swinging, crimebusting role,
Zane is a marvel to watch on the screen.
In the recent upswing of Hollywood films which treat
comic strip subjects more dramatically (and in a decidedly
less hokey manner), THE PHANTOM definitely stands with
Tim Burton's 1st BATMAN film as a direct predecessor for
the outstanding live-action work being done currently
with the genre, especially when one considers the
Marvel-based films now on the market.
The only thing which would be better than simply seeing
this highly underrated film would be if Paramount would
finally do THE PHANTOM its just due as a deluxe DVD set.
With such a release, Paramount could finally issue the
very thorough documentary from A&E's BIOGRAPHY on
the strip, its creator, and the film, along with the HBO
FIRST LOOK featurette on the movie.
Neither item has been available on DVD, and packaging
this material with, say, a special edition of this film
would be as welcome as it is overdue.
Considering that the film's 10th anniversary -and THE
PHANTOM's 70th anniversary- is due in 2006, the time
is ripe for a serious reappraisal of this highly
entertaining motion picture, and the idiom which
it represents so very well.
Rating: Summary: Fun Fast Phantom Fists of Fury Review: When looking for a fun action film one can certainly do far worse than The Phantom, based upon the newspaper strip of the same name. Billy Zane plays the title role with Treat Williams as the main villain.The plot revolves around a quest to find three sacred, and powerful, skulls that together form a powerful weapon. To prevent the skulls from falling into the wrong hands the Phantom must travel to New York in his disguise as Mr. Walker (a play on The-Ghost-Who-Walks). This is an excellent movie for swashbuckling fans with plenty of action and derring-do. There is also the nice touch that the women are not helpless as we so often see in movies. There are also little touches brought in from other movies and comic strips (but I'll let you see it to figure them out). Classic imagery is combined with good action and good lines to make the Phantom a movie well worth seeing.
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