I'm just going to say it up front: I love this movie. I know that nobody else does. Most people don't even seem to like it. I can't figure out why. It's based on the comic strip, and it does everything right (from my point of view). It's set in the right period (the '30s), and it's based on some of the actual comic strip stories. It doesn't go over the top with special effects. It captures the spirit of the old movie serials (and maybe I'll talk about the serial version of The Phantom one of these days). It has a great cast, and if you don't think Billy Zane can pull off an authentic hero, you should watch this. You might change your mind. Others include Treat Williams chewing the scenery, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine Zeta-Jones (as a female air-pirate!), and Kristy Swanson, for starters. It has the Skull Cave, Hero (the Phantom's horse), Devil (the Phantom's dog), and the Phantom's cool ring. It's set both in New York and in the jungle, and both settings look great.
And, yes, there's a plot. It's an origin story, and there's the usual MacGuffin (or three of them, mystic skulls that will supposedly allow one to rule the world if all three are brought together). It has action, it has heart, and it's fun from beginning to end. Or it was for me, if not for anybody else. Should've been a big hit, should've had many sequels. Didn't happen, more's the pity. But that's okay. I love it, anyway.
25 comments:
Yeah, I liked it too. It should have been a hit. No cussin' or sex, I guess made it flop.
Well, there's at least 3 of us who liked it. When I was growing up, my comic heroes were Tarzan and The Phantom. When this movie came out years later I was ecstatic. Never understood why it wasn't a hit.
I love this movie, too. No surprise there.
Well, I'm glad I'm not alone.
I know why it wasn't a hit...it wasn't pushed, and The Phantom strip had faded pretty hard by the time it was released...but I think it's a decent film, too. Perhaps Rachel Weisz in the mix might've helped...I think it succeeds on its terms slightly better than THE SHADOW did, but I like THE SHADOW better. Meanwhile, most of the world wanted to see Spielberg and the little Spielbergs embarrass women, and Lucas trying to make LAND OF THE LOST style scripts profound. Let them eat that delicious oven-drippings cake. Jeez, next you'll have Renny Harlin trying to convince us a girl can blow stuff up or sumthin. Hyuck.
I like THE SHADOW, too. And of course I love CUTTHROAT ISLAND. I like it better every time I watch it.
I like it a lot too. But I've talked to some people who think The Phantom costume looks unacceptably silly. I'm old enough to remember the strips fondly, but perhaps if I weren't I'd feel the same way...
Sillier than Batman or Superman? Hmmmm.
I thought it was pretty good, though I felt a couple of the action scenes were flat. The escape from the crashing biplane felt like it took 10 minutes.
James Remar was in this too, and he was pretty good.
I agree that Remar was good. I liked the action scenes more than you did, though.
Heck, I even liked the 1975 Doc Savage movie. Go figure.
I loved it. I need to write about that one, if I haven't already.
I liked it as well.
I liked it. But most of what I like you should be suspicious of. I even liked Remo Williams.
Wow, I missed this completely. I just put it in Netflix queue, only 50 or so down...
I remember seeing this as a kid. I thought it was decent, but the theater was aside from my family mostly vacant. There was one old guy who kept making sarcastic comments during the movie.
I liked the Remo Williams movie, too.
Don't blame us if you hate it, Rick!
I enjoyed THE PHANTOM and have seen it twice (so far), but it does seem to lack some indefinable something--energy, pell-mell pacing, something (DOC SAVAGE and HIGH ROAD TO CHINA--another action movie that should have worked better than it did, are other examples) hard to name but important. (I liked REMO WILLIAMS and most of CUTTHROAT ISLAND very much as well.) Then again, the nigh-unknown NATE AND HAYES is one of my very favorites, so there's no way to know which movies will push just the right buttons.
I think I've written about HIGH ROAD TO CHINA here. I like NATE AND HAYES, too.
The comic strip was always very popular in Sweden, and in 1950 a comic book was launched which eventually ran out of original material and had to initiate material of its own. Which was generally very good and surprisingly, occasionally better than the original strip. Now there's an idea for a reissue programme - Swedish THE PHANTOM comics from circa 1969 and onwards. I'd certainly buy it.
Guess I'm easy. I liked Phantom and most of those mentioned. Also loved "John Carter". There's also a pretty good ebook about how Disney dropped the ball on promoting "Carter". No respect for us um "more experienced" fans.
I really liked JOHN CARTER.
I still like THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT at least as much as CUTTHROAT ISLAND, even if they should've used the Zombies' version of "She's Not There"...
Yes, I'm very fond of THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT. Great fun all the way.
I agree with you 100%! ... In fact, I just said as much to Kristy Swanson herself on Twitter and she actually responded! ... It was a near perfect Super Hero movie that included all of the aspects you listed... It's tragic that it never had a sequel...
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