The phantom. Miriam-Webster's dictionary defines it as "something (as a specter) apparent to sense but with no substantial existence". If only the same could be for this movie.
Billy Zane (Billy Zane? The one who hasn't done really anything since Titanic) plays The Phantom. Clad in the worst costume for a super-hero ever (tight purple suit, belt, face mask), he lives in a forest. He fights supposed bad guys. Even ones who just get in his way, such as police officers. Along with his horse and his dog Devil (who disappears and reappears many times), he attacks grave robbers. But I wouldn't call him a superhero.
Xander Drax (Treat Williams) is a multimillionaire type who wants to collect three skulls to get power. Of course! So simple. After the Phantom "lets" them narrowly escape, he goes after Drax to make sure he doesn't get the other two skulls. So far so good, right? Wrong.
Diana Palmer (Kristy Swanson) is someone who knows Drax. Somehow she gets involved. Wow. Great character developement. So many characters come and go, how are we supposed to remember who and why they are?
The Phantom is plagued with problems. First is the improbability factor. The Phantom jumps from a plane (that moves up and down without anyone touching it) onto a horse that seems to be running faster than the plane. As soon as the Phantom gets off a bridges with an overturned truck on it (that, for some reason, is stuck in place without any supports), the truck falls down and lands in water, causing a big explosion. Somehow he makes volcanoes erupt, causing an island to blow up. After almost killing the Phantom with a sword, the person decides to use a switchblade. Catch my drift?
The script is very lacking. First, no characters are developed, they just come and go. At the end, when the Phantom defeats the bad guy (oops...just gave away the surprise ending!), he uses his "cunning". That's the only time. And how many superheros use guns? The script, like the rest of the movie, is laughably bad. "There is opportunity in chaos." "We'll be fish food!" Sounds like advanced writing to me.
The acting...where to begin? Zane doesn't really do much, since because of his "costume" he can have a stunt double do most of his worki. You can tell when Zane is actually in the suit because the acting is poor. Swanson, which is a name I rarely hear, overacts and mixes emotions and actions. Williams is decent, but is too over-the-top and tries too hard to be sinister. Catherine Zeta-Jones, as one of Drax's assistants, is serviceable. She actually is a good action star.
The music tried to make it an adventure movie, in case we forgot this is what it is trying to be. It turns into a violent swashbuckler at the end. Its ending, which tries to wrap it up, even though we got it halfway through, is predictable and stupid.
The Phantom is very stupid, with misfires everywhere and only OK acting, which is its only saving grace.
My rating: 3/10
Rated PG for action/adventure violence and some mild language.
Billy Zane (Billy Zane? The one who hasn't done really anything since Titanic) plays The Phantom. Clad in the worst costume for a super-hero ever (tight purple suit, belt, face mask), he lives in a forest. He fights supposed bad guys. Even ones who just get in his way, such as police officers. Along with his horse and his dog Devil (who disappears and reappears many times), he attacks grave robbers. But I wouldn't call him a superhero.
Xander Drax (Treat Williams) is a multimillionaire type who wants to collect three skulls to get power. Of course! So simple. After the Phantom "lets" them narrowly escape, he goes after Drax to make sure he doesn't get the other two skulls. So far so good, right? Wrong.
Diana Palmer (Kristy Swanson) is someone who knows Drax. Somehow she gets involved. Wow. Great character developement. So many characters come and go, how are we supposed to remember who and why they are?
The Phantom is plagued with problems. First is the improbability factor. The Phantom jumps from a plane (that moves up and down without anyone touching it) onto a horse that seems to be running faster than the plane. As soon as the Phantom gets off a bridges with an overturned truck on it (that, for some reason, is stuck in place without any supports), the truck falls down and lands in water, causing a big explosion. Somehow he makes volcanoes erupt, causing an island to blow up. After almost killing the Phantom with a sword, the person decides to use a switchblade. Catch my drift?
The script is very lacking. First, no characters are developed, they just come and go. At the end, when the Phantom defeats the bad guy (oops...just gave away the surprise ending!), he uses his "cunning". That's the only time. And how many superheros use guns? The script, like the rest of the movie, is laughably bad. "There is opportunity in chaos." "We'll be fish food!" Sounds like advanced writing to me.
The acting...where to begin? Zane doesn't really do much, since because of his "costume" he can have a stunt double do most of his worki. You can tell when Zane is actually in the suit because the acting is poor. Swanson, which is a name I rarely hear, overacts and mixes emotions and actions. Williams is decent, but is too over-the-top and tries too hard to be sinister. Catherine Zeta-Jones, as one of Drax's assistants, is serviceable. She actually is a good action star.
The music tried to make it an adventure movie, in case we forgot this is what it is trying to be. It turns into a violent swashbuckler at the end. Its ending, which tries to wrap it up, even though we got it halfway through, is predictable and stupid.
The Phantom is very stupid, with misfires everywhere and only OK acting, which is its only saving grace.
My rating: 3/10
Rated PG for action/adventure violence and some mild language.