On P List of Movie Reviews
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The Phantom (1996)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
1/25
1/25:
I saw The Phantom a couple of times during the 90's and then forgot about it.
My sentiment still holds after watching it again recently: the movie isn't bad. I'm aware of the comic strip,
having read it in the newspapers many times, which was created by Lee Falk in 1936. Here lies the
problem: the Phantom has no superpowers to speak of. So, why does the film show him performing impossible stunts?
I don't get it. That's the downfall of The Phantom.
Obviously, the feel, along with parts of the story, is straight out of
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
It shouldn't be a surprise because Jeffrey Boam wrote the screenplay for
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Simon Wincer
will go on to direct various episodes and
movies for The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. Regardless, it's a good-looking period picture.
Billy Zane is perfectly cast as the superhero, and I like how he handled the role compared to, say,
Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney when they played Batman. He actually lifted
weights in order to appear buff, and nobody expected that when they had a fake muscular suit ready
for him. Kristy Swanson is fine as Diane Palmer. Unfortunately, Treat Williams is unmemorable as
Xander Drax. I didn't know Catherine Zeta-Jones was in the film because she wasn't yet famous.
All in all, The Phantom is better than most superhero films, and I'm not even a fan of the genre.