The Phantom
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Movie Reviews of The Phantom
Movie Review: The Ghost Who Walks
Summary: 5 Stars
Lee Falk himself would be proud to see this adaptation of his Classic Super Hero.Movie Review: Lovin it!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is a classic - Have watched it many times & I still love it.Movie Review: Love the Phantom
Summary: 5 Stars
I wish there could be a sequel. Love the Phantom and his gang.Movie Review: great
Summary: 5 Stars
l,m part of it l love itMovie Review: A lightweight fun adventure . . . but oh, what could have been? . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
The Phantom (1996) is a fun, campy, action-adventure, that stays pretty true to its comic book origins. The character, created by Lee Falk, first appeared in 1936, as a newspaper comic strip. Billy Zane (Titanic, Dead Calm) stars as Kit Walker, the twenty first man to be known as The Phantom, the ghost who walks. The very first Phantom became a masked costumed crimefighter, after his father was killed by pirates. Living in the fictitious African land of Bengalla, the original Phantom was succeeded by his son. With son succeeding father twenty times over the course of some four hundred years, the legend grew that The Phantom, was the man that could not die.
The movie is set in the 1930's, early in Kit Walker's time as The Phantom. His father, played by Patrick McGoohan (Secret Agent Man, The Prisoner) had recently been stabbed in the back and killed, causing Kit to return from college in America, to replace him as The Phantom. Living in a cave deep in the jungle, The Phantom has no super powers, and is aided by his friend Guran (Radmar Agana Jao), wolf Devil, and horse Hero. His symbol is the skull, and his skull ring, is designed to leave the impression of a skull, when he delivers a punch. Handsome, and with a fine physique, Zane is great as the Phantom, bringing charm, and a sense of youthful inexperience and humor to the role.
Wealthy New York businessman Xander Drax (Treat Williams), is seeking to collect the three skulls of Tuganda, because when the skulls are put together, they unleash a great power. Newspaper publisher Dave Palmer (Bill Smitrovich) is suspicious of Drax, and sends his niece Diana (Kristy Swanson) on a mission to Bengalla. Quill (James Remar), the man who killed Kit's Father, is a raider in the employ of Drax. He has just recovered one of the skulls in Bengalla, and his next task is to stop Diana. With the help of Sala (Catherine Zeta Jones), Diana is abducted and held prisoner on a ship, but she is freed by The Phantom, and the pair make a thrilling aerial escape into the jungle, with the help of Devil and Hero. A stunt involving dropping from a plane to a horse, is quite well done.
After learning from Diana, that Drax has a connection to the Sengh Brotherhood, The Phantom sends her back to New York, and Kit himself returns to New York. Treat Williams plays Drax to the hilt, going over the top with gusto. Drax strikes next at the Museum of World History, combining his skull with a second skull on display at the museum. The power of the skulls is displayed, revealing the location of the third skull in The Devil's Vortex. Kit and DIana are Drax's prisoners, but Kit escapes and then makes a dramatic appearance in the Big Apple, as The Phantom. Of course anyone paying attention, should be able to figure out that Kit is The Phantom, but no one does, except perhaps a friendly cab driver.
The Phantom hitches a ride on Drax's plane, piloted by Sala. Beautiful exotic locations in Thailand are featured during the journey to the pirates' haven. The Sengh Brotherhood's lair is in a secret cave, where their leader the Great Kabai Sengh (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), the keeper of the third skull, reveals that there is a fourth skull. No one wants to cooperate, so it's time to slam evil! The Phantom feeds Kabai to the sharks, takes care of Quill, and then faces Drax who has now combined the three skulls. The Phantom's skull ring, is the mysterious fourth skull, and using its power, Drax is overcome. The Phantom leads Diana and Sala to safety, as the pirates liar explodes in flames. Although the movie ends with Diana returning to New York, in the comic she marries Kit, so things were perfectly setup for a sequel. Oh what could have been, but unfortunately for whatever reasons, the sequel never happened.
Jeffrey Boam's screenplay is a nice mix of humor, goofy good natured action, and romance. Boam was very familiar with this genre, as executive producer for The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and as a veteran screenwriter, whose credits include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Like an Indy adventure, the film directed by Australian Simon Wincer, changes locations several times, and finishes with a flurry, although the ending does feel a bit rushed. Zane and Swanson, have pretty decent chemistry, in rather limited time together. Perhaps Drax was exaggerated, to balance Zane's rather subdued characterization of the ghost that walks. The rest of the cast is very good, including a salty James Remar (Dexter), and Oscar winner Catherine Zeta Jones (Traffic, Chicago), in an underused early film appearance. David Newman does an excellent job of bringing to The Phantom, something of the same kind of excitement and majesty that John Williams brought to Indiana Jones. The film's OST is well worth a listen.
While The Phantom is certainly not in the same class as Indiana Jones, it is a solid and fun, action adventure. Hopefully the upcoming blu-ray release will have more to offer in the way of extras, than just the trailer. A commentary track by Billy Zane, or perhaps Jeffery Boam would be nice, and perhaps fans can find out why a sequel never happened.