Along with several comic-book hero films from the '90s (The Rocketeer, The Shadow) The Phantom was another attempt to make a period piece comic-book film by utilizing a sort of retro cool aesthetic combined with a non-traditional hero in an attempt to create something a bit different and hopefully more inclusive and attractive to an audience of non modern era comic-book fans. Much like those other films the hoped for crossover audience didn't surface as super-hero films still didn't have a large enough fan-base outside of the core built-in audience to stray too far from the more iconic heroes and and the film died a quick death at the box-office. Thankfully the movie has picked up an ever growing cult following on DVD and so it remains in circulation and is easily found.
Working off of a script by Jeffrey Boam the movie was originally scheduled to be directed by Joe Dante and lean a bit more heavily into being a parody of a high-adventure serial films. After the scheduled shooting dates were pushed forward Dante left and a long time fan of The Phantom character Simon Wincer took over the project. Simon decided to approach the material a bit more seriously and this results in the lines being delivered with more of a wry wink tone to them that serves the material rather well and works well to keep some of the stereo-typical characters from becoming a bit too heavy-handed.
The Phantom is a movie of very high adventure and there are plenty of harrowing escapes and large scale chases to be had. The film is uses the outdoor locations to their fullest and they are both grand and beautiful and a perfect backdrop for the adventure filled world of The Phantom and his adversaries to interact within. Unfortunately some of the indoor sets don't favor as well and the impact and wonderment that earlier scenes evoked are greatly reduced to some cheap-looking sets. The end scene pirate lair in particular looks a bit more like a Disney ride location than a pirate hideout of The Phantom's lifelong enemies.
But overall The Phantom is a very fun film and although full of clichéd characters, the actors pull it off with suitable skill and the pervasive positive tone helps to carry the film as it quickly moves from one location to the next. Character development is a bit thin, but the film propels forward at a fairly rapid pace so this doesn't really hinder it much. A sorely overlooked film that delivers a rollicking good adventure that's whose fun is infectious and charming.
Working off of a script by Jeffrey Boam the movie was originally scheduled to be directed by Joe Dante and lean a bit more heavily into being a parody of a high-adventure serial films. After the scheduled shooting dates were pushed forward Dante left and a long time fan of The Phantom character Simon Wincer took over the project. Simon decided to approach the material a bit more seriously and this results in the lines being delivered with more of a wry wink tone to them that serves the material rather well and works well to keep some of the stereo-typical characters from becoming a bit too heavy-handed.
The Phantom is a movie of very high adventure and there are plenty of harrowing escapes and large scale chases to be had. The film is uses the outdoor locations to their fullest and they are both grand and beautiful and a perfect backdrop for the adventure filled world of The Phantom and his adversaries to interact within. Unfortunately some of the indoor sets don't favor as well and the impact and wonderment that earlier scenes evoked are greatly reduced to some cheap-looking sets. The end scene pirate lair in particular looks a bit more like a Disney ride location than a pirate hideout of The Phantom's lifelong enemies.
But overall The Phantom is a very fun film and although full of clichéd characters, the actors pull it off with suitable skill and the pervasive positive tone helps to carry the film as it quickly moves from one location to the next. Character development is a bit thin, but the film propels forward at a fairly rapid pace so this doesn't really hinder it much. A sorely overlooked film that delivers a rollicking good adventure that's whose fun is infectious and charming.