The Phantom
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Movie Reviews of The Phantom
Movie Review: Hey Gang, Let's Go To The Devil's Vortex! And Other Improbabilities!
Summary: 4 Stars
The Phantom takes some getting used to. Being familiar with Lee Falk's comic strip of the same name, the Phantom was part Batman, part Tarzan, being in the jungle in a skin tight purple spandex outfit, offending villains with his fashion sense.
Actually the film covered the story fairly accurately: a boy on a ship whose father was killed by pirates, washes ashore (no worse for wear, oddly) and is adopted by a fierce Caribbean tribe and grows to be The Phantom, aka The Ghost Who Walks.
OK, all caught up? Good.
Because now the film dives into a similar style story as Indiana Jones. No surprise there as the scriptwriter and co-producer, Jeffrey Boam, also write the script to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. And with a few changes here and there, I am sure this could have been the real Indy 4, but I digress.
The plot (or what there is of one) is essentially this:
Billy Zane (Titanic) stars as The Phantom who searches for the legendary skulls of Touganda which when placed together with a few other skulls (none of them are Crystal by the way) harness great power.
While the search is on, he meets the girl of his dreams, talks to his dead father (in a very Obi Wan Kenobi like way) contemplates how he will carry on the family name. Gangster Xander Drax, who has 1930s New York in his pocket, is also after these skulls for the power they contain.
Fighting: Lots of fighting. Catherine Zeta Jones is a bad girl who must have kicked the nuts out of at least three men. Kristy Swanson is the rich publisher's daughter who gets kidnapped but not before delivering a mean right hook. And Billy Zane rides a horse, hangs off an airplane and skids down an elevator shaft cable, no worse for wear.
There are scenes like a microscope with knives and when someone he thinks lied to him is told to look into the microscope, the knives come out and blind the guy. Drax laughs at this but in the real world he would have been sued or locked up for maiming someone.
But this is 1930s New York, man. Kinda like the Dick Tracy, The Shadow and The Rocketeer-type films. Rockem Sockem, makes little sense and is a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
So if you want to unhook your brain and ingest some mindless entertainment, The Phantom is for you.
Interesting facts: Roger Ebert loved it for some reason, appreciating the accuracy of the comic book style. And there are plans (as of December 2008) to make a re-make with the same spandex but in modern times instead of the retro '30s.
Billy Zane movies include:
Zoolander (Special Collector's Edition)
Bloodrayne (Unrated Director's Cut)(DVD ROM game is included)
Titanic
Movie Review: A Wonderful Adventure Tale
Summary: 4 Stars
It doesn't surprise me that "The Phantom" failed at the box office. It lacked the star power of other films of that time, relied on the name recognition of a hero who isn't as flashy as Batman, Spiderman, or a multitude of other characters, and, honestly, it wasn't summer blockbuster material. Perhaps if it came out in the dead of winter when most studios toss out their artsy flicks hoping for Oscar recognition, it would have done better.
With that said, I have to admit that "The Phantom" is a wonderful flick to watch. Granted, it doesn't have flying heroes or webslingers, but it does have a wonderful story to it in the classic vein of those old 1930's cliffhangers. Billy Zane is game as Kit Walker/Phantom. He has that classic Hollywood look to him that makes him perfect for the role. Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy) does a wonderful job as Diane Palmer, the damsel in not-so-much-distress. Catherine Zeta Jones, James Remar, and the underrated Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa head up a stellar supporting cast. The real "treat" here, however, is Treat Williams as Xander Drax, the evil mastermind behind all of the Phantom's problems in this film. He's completely over the top, delivering smug lines like, "Show me the power!" with enough cinematic flair that you can't help but love his devilish character.
The story involves the search for three skulls: one of bronze, one of jade, and one of gold, that will give their owner ultimate power. Drax, being the power-hungry man that he is, is on the hunt for these three skulls. The only things in his way are the Sang Brotherhood, who are responsible for creating the Phantom many centuries ago, and the Phantom himself. The tale bounces from the lush jungles of Africa (but actually Australia and the backlots of California) to the mean streets of 1930's New York City, and then to the dreaded Devil's Vortex. It's full of swashbuckling, gunplay, high adventure, and a few explosions.
The cinematography is brilliant, capturing the beauty of the Australian locations it was filmed on. The blues and greens fill the TV screen wonderfully, and the vibrant purple of Phantom's suit supplies a wonderful contrast to the deep greens and browns of the jungles.
Overall, there isn't too much that's offensive in this flick for youngsters. The language does get a little bit strong for the younger lot, but if you let your kids watch recent the recent PG-13 hero flicks, I'm sure they can handle this one. There is quite a bit of violence, including a couple of impalings, but all of it is done in a way that is no worse than most other superhero films.
I highly recommend this flick to fans of films like "The Shadow" and "The Rocketeer," as well as most other superhero flicks. It might take awhile to get beyond the VERY purple outfit that our hero wears in this flick, but it's all played out with great intentions and a nod to the classic cliffhangers from long ago.
Movie Review: THE PHANTOM...and NOT of the opera
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, let me reccomend the first Phantom movie, a serial made in the 40's with TOM TYLER who was also the mummy in one of the mummy movies and CAPTAIN MARVEL in a serial before this one but best known as the star in a bunch of old b&w westerns. Also I want to say (because Batman creator/co creator Bob Kane did'nt but would claim he invented sliced bread if he thought he'd get away with it no doubt) like Zorro before him,THE PHANTOM had a secret cave headquarters, had a butler of sorts and was the FIRST masked hero in tights too. Basicaly he's part Tarzan and part Batman. NO boy sidekick but he does have a pet wolf and a great horse as his aids in fighting evil. The story is a bit of an effort to go with an Indiana Jones like flavor, many consider this movie a flop but The Phantom has'nt been seen much in the USA since the 60's and his heyday was the 30's and 40's like THE SHADOW. The newspaper strip has only been in 500 papers these days so it's not like he's seen as much as the PEANUTS kids who're in maybe 5 or 10 times as many papers. Who knows, sometime even movie characters so well known NOW may meet this fate decades from now. I reccomend this movie to any fan of super heroes period. It's as good as THE ROCKETEER in my opinion. Billy Zane is great as the Phantom and Lee Falk who created the strip as well as Mandrake the Magician strip, once hugely popular, thought so. The Indy trimmings story does'nt hurt it at all. I know the buffs will want to crucify me for saying this but I feel it's too true these days....see the USA box office for THE PHANTOM and THE SHADOW, both good movies if you don't believe it. Spielburg or Lucas could do a Tarzan or Captain Marvel a.k.a. Shazam movie but how many people would line up in multitudes for it 'eh? As the characters are NOT popular now as they had been decades ago (when the character's name alone would attract hundreds of thousands and more), only the director's name OR Disney's would be the primary attraction. I know the Phantom character is huge in Australia and more popular in Europe than in the USA, that's swell, I'm glad. Anyway, see it!Movie Review: Classic adventure!
Summary: 4 Stars
The main reason I decided to see this movie when it was released to theaters was the fact that the screenplay was written by Jeffrey Boam, a man who has demonstrated himself as a very competent action/adventure screenwriter with such films as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, and the televison series The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.. (one of my all-time favorite TV shows). I couldn't get many of my friends interested in this, but thankfully my dad understood, so we had a fun time at the theater with this movie.
The movie immediately endeared itself to me with the fact that it is a period super hero film, a genre I am a huge fan of. (The Rocketeer is one of my favorite films, and I was even entertained by The Shadow, despite some obvious problems.) Also, it harkens back to the era of movie serials, yet another genre that strikes my fancy.
Yes, it has a hero who wears one hell of a goofy costume. Yes, Treat Williams completely overacts in the role of the villain. And yes, the plot seems recycled from countless comic books and b-movie adventures from yesteryear, but that's all part of the fun of this movie. Aside from that, the art direction for the film is very good and very atmospheric.
This movie fills a void that few films do, and I can only hope that the fact that movies like this fail (mostly due to the unsatisfactory advertising) doesn't keep these types of pictures from being made
Movie Review: A good movie that could hve been great.
Summary: 4 Stars
When I was "knee high to a grasshopper" in the early fifties - my favorite comic hero was The Phantom. Not even Batman or Superman could come close. This is a good movie - that could have been great.
The reason is that - unfortunately for those of us Phantom fans - Jeffrey Boam (Co-Producer) - an immensely talented individual - carried much of his Brisco County, Jr. "mantra" of "Just below over the top" - into this film. If he hadn't scripted The Phantom's skull ring a/k/a "The Orb" (Brisco County) and "just under over the top" humor - we could have had a much more serious - and - enjoyable film - more along the lines of Indiana Jones.
Having said that - the action sequences were second to none - (I'm still wondering how they did the airplane to horse "transfer") - and - Billy Zane captured the spirit of the 21st Phantom perfectly.
The plot was stronger in the first half of the film - than the second. However - all was in great fun and enjoyable to watch.
So - for those of you looking for good hearted family entertainment - I strongly recommend The Phantom. Hero - the Phantom's horse - is Roy Rodger's Trigger & The Lone Ranger's Silver rolled all into one. Devil - thankfully played by a real wolf and not a spray painted German Shepherd - could easily outmatch Rin Tin Tin any day of the week.
And as to the future? I for one - am anxiously awaiting the start of filming of "The Phantom Legacy" an Austrilian production - which - if the Ghosts of the Skull Cave smile upon us - is due to start filming sometine in 2009 or 2010.
Enjoy!!!