Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

sudragor I watched the movie on dvd recently and used to watch it as a kid. It's more of a classic movie of the late nineties and has that feel. It's a great movie for those who like to revist the hollywood scene 2 decades ago before when things like internet, social media became the modern fascination, and people had a lot of curioisty and original mystery in their movie making.

Leofwine_draca A big screen outing for one of the more obscure comic strip heroes, THE PHANTOM is an approximate mixture of TARZAN, BATMAN, and INDIANA JONES, although not as much fun as at least two of those film series. This film tells of a guy in a purple bodysuit who lives out in the jungle with his animal friends, fighting crime and mischief wherever he can. It pretty much sank without trace on release and you can see why, but it's still better than some superhero films I could mention (such as FANTASTIC FOUR).The main problem this film has is the juvenile script. Yes, we know this is a kid's film, but does it need to be so childishly simplistic in everything it does? The INDIANA JONES films were meant for children but they avoided this trap and it's a shame more effort wasn't made to turn THE PHANTOM into something adults could enjoy as well. Instead, this is lightweight stuff through and through: heavy on action and chase sequences, light on thought and integrity.The film's cast is one of the strongest things it has going for it. Billy Zane is probably the only actor who could have looked good in figure-hugging lycra, and I enjoyed seeing him cast as the hero for once. His two supporting actors are less than impressive: original BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Kristy Swanson fails to make an impression, while Treat Williams is just bland as the chief bad guy – neither hammy nor sinister, just a bit of a ponce. Still, the supporting cast more than makes up for these deficiencies: there are B-movie regulars James Remar and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as minor villains, turns from old-timers Samantha Eggar and Patrick McGoohan (as Zane's dad!), and a pre-stardom Catherine Zeta-Jones before she made it famous as Michael Douglas' wife (it's amazing how different and more natural she looks here as compared to her later idealised Hollywood image).The action scenes are okay and fairly lively, although they can't help looking cheap on occasion – wobbly scenery and the like. The chases are my favourite, with one excellent scene showing the Phantom jumping from car roof to roof before taking to horse to pursue the bad guys. Sadly, the climax is weak, just cutting to the usual one-vs-one battles as so many of these bland Hollywood productions do. Some might say that THE PHANTOM is deservedly forgotten: I won't disagree, but kids should have a good time with it.

jc-osms I'm sure I've read the odd "Phantom" cartoon strip in a newspaper, although never in a full- length comic, but that was enough to tempt me to watch this boy's own adventure brought to life. I gather the film was a major flop on original release and I can see it slightly uneasily balancing itself somewhere between the likes of the sublime "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the later, less-so "National Treasure". In fact the film it most resembles is the soon-come "The Mummy" which of course was a commercial smash and spawned a similarly cash-generating sequel.No such luck for the team here though which is a little bit of a shame as it's an entertaining romp and with better timing may have caught a similar wave of success. It's a touch light on the special effects but then again, "The Phantom" isn't super-powered anyway, just being very athletic, a good horseman and nifty with his two-toting guns. The cinematography is excellent throughout, from the recreation of 1930's New York streets, to the climactic scenes in the Brotherhood's underground cave and in particular, some excellent landscape shots of the Bengalla jungle, the Phantom's habitat.Billy Zane makes for an energetic but genial hero, knowing that he's not really scary- looking in his purple onesie, Kristy Swanson does well as his spirited tomboy girlfriend and Treat Williams scores as the dastardly villain Xander Drax. Catherine Zeta-Jones is less convincing as a bad-girl-turned-good and the great Patrick McGoohan is wasted as the Phantom's ghostly father who makes intermittent appearances as his son's conscience. There are fight scenes a plenty and especially a fine duel between the hero and major baddie at the end which respects the traditions of swashbucklers of Hollywood's golden age.A little like its eponymous hero then, this movie was a little out of time but was otherwise light, enjoyable old-fashioned entertainment.

Wuchak ... but that's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is one of the greatest adventure movies of all time. There's quite a bit of "Raiders" in 1996's "The Phantom"; it's just no where as good. Even the three Indiana Jones sequels are better. But it's not bad either.Billy Zane shines in the title role -- charming and in absolute perfect shape -- while Kristy Swanson and Catherine Zeta-Jones offer their feminine charms to the mix, not to mention Samantha Eggar. Also on hand are James Remar, Treat Williams and Patrick McGoohan."The Phantom" is just a fun, cartooney adventure that takes place mostly in the jungle, with some parts in the big city. It's great for a night when you're in the mood for some light viewing.The film runs 100 minutes and was shot in Thailand, Australia and California.GRADE: C+