The Phantom (1996)

The Phantom, descendent of a line of African heroes, travels to New York to thwart a criminal genius.

Director:

Simon Wincer

Writers:

Lee Falk (characters), Jeffrey Boam

Stars:

Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Zane	...	The Phantom / Kit Walker
Kristy Swanson	...	Diana Palmer
Treat Williams	...	Xander Drax
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Sala (as Catherine Zeta Jones)
James Remar	...	Quill
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	The Great Kabai Sengh
Bill Smitrovich	...	Uncle Dave Palmer
Casey Siemaszko	...	Morgan
David Proval	...	Charlie Zephro
Joseph Ragno	...	Ray Zephro
Samantha Eggar	...	Lily Palmer
Jon Tenney	...	Jimmy Wells
Patrick McGoohan	...	Phantom's Dad
Robert Coleby	...	Capt. Philip Horton
Al Ruscio	...	Police Commissioner Farley

Storyline

The 21st successor to the role of Bengalla's resident superhero must travel to New York to prevent a rich madman from obtaining three magic skulls that would give him the secret to ultimate power.

---

Plot Keywords:

superhero | phantom | skull | vigilantism | comic hero | 

---

Taglines:

The Ghost Who Walks. The Man Who Cannot Die.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action/adventure violence and some mild language

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

El fantasma

Filming Locations:

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$197,603 (USA) (19 July 1996)

Gross:

AUD 4,601,218 (Australia) (1 November 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Ladd Company, The, Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of The Phantom's trademarks in the comic strip, his striped "underpants", was tried on the movie costume, but reportedly looked too silly to use in the final film.

---

Goofs

Black cables can be seen attached to the Phantom's belt when he slides down the elevator cable and grabs hold of the floor.

---

Quotes

Diana Palmer: [about Devil] Your dog's a wolf!
The Phantom: [almost laughing] I know.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)

User Reviews

Harmless Old-Fashioned Comic Book Adventure

An old-fashioned adventure yarn is the best description of this modern-day comic book-hero-come to life-story. This almost like one of those early Tim Burton directed-Batman type adventures without all the darkness. The language is mild (as it should be in these type of films), the special-effects are decent and the sound is good. Best of all is the scenery, some beautiful landscapes filmed in Thailand and Australia.

Instead of the city being where our comic book hero performs his heroics, this is out in the jungle, more like an Indiana Jones-type story. It's fast-moving, it's hokey, it's unrealistic but its generally fun to watch. Even the villain ("Xander Drax" played by Treat Williams) isn't really all nasty.

The Phantom (Billy Zane) has the normal off-and-on corny romance situation with feminist-journalist (does Hollywood know any other kind?) "Diana Palmer" (Kristy Swanson) and the film gives you an entertaining 100 minutes. It's no award-winner but at least it's something you watch with your kids.