Das Phantom

I am an original Phantom reader and saw the movie back on 1996 with Billy Zane which was more truthful to the character than this adaptation. They try to modernize the character to a point that is almost unrecognizable. The origin has gaps in it that it doesn't explain. The acting is non-existent and a lot was changed from the original version. But what can you expect from a movie made for the SciFy channel and made by Canadians? Nothing personal against Canada but trying to do their own version of an American icon when they don't know much about the character this is what happens. It is like a Chinese movie studio trying to do a version of Superman without devoting time to really know the character. Of course they going to add their own interpretation and the result will be something different to what we are used to see.

This is rating the first 61 minutes because that was all my DVR recorded of the 4 hr program. I liked what I watched and I wish to see more in a series. My only complaint is that Syfy does not have it on the schedule to be seen again any time soon. With all the ways to see shows when it is convenient and this is a network that can show the episodes more than once they should give viewers more chances to see their shows. Sorry for the ranting but this has happened numerous times to me from Syfy, I hear about a great show and never get to see it because they do not give multiple chances to view their shows, I am going to use this one as an example. . .I really liked the 61 min I saw of this film but I give Syfy a 1 on satisfaction!!

Perhaps it's because I know nothing of the Phantom, but I enjoyed this quite a lot. I don't usually pay much attention to CGI if the concept and characters are compelling, and I found they were here. I did notice (after reading the reviews here) that the jet was not very realistic, but that took little away from the overall storyline.

I was particularly satisfied with the involved plot line that didn't telegraph the ending. Yes, it was basically good against evil, but the characters were well done, the pace was quick and the leads were charismatic. I'd like to see the romantic angle developed and an heir for the Phantom. I loved the lair and the locations, but the Indians I could've done without.

I look forward to seeing SyFy pick this up.

The Phantom was one of my favorite comics when I was a kid, so my excitement was understandable when I sat down to watch this movie. Alas, the excitement waned almost immediately. This was not a movie worthy of the comic strip, it hardly had anything to do with it whatsoever. It was overly 'modernized', apparently in order to adapt it to the 21st century... Why on earth would you want to do that? It looks more like a music video than an action flick.

Another major problem is the casting of the main character; Ryan Carnes would be much more believable impersonating a teenage MTV pop star than he is starring as the Phantom. And then there is the costume... Suffice it to say that it looks totally ridiculous, and it has nothing to do with the Phantom. The set decoration is rather tacky (I believe due to budgetary restrictions), the cinematography and sound are average, so there is really nothing that really stands out in this movie. Large TV productions have accustomed us to much better products in recent years. It's a pity really, the idea to film the Phantom was a good one, but it should have been done in a different way, a completely different way.

I never knew the old Phantom before, so I watched this with an open mind, I usually know nothing of the movies I'm about to watch not even genre. I kinda guessed that this was a comic-book adaptation and i was right.

Okay, so this is a B-flick. the characters are neither very deep nor engaging, the actresses are, while nice, not really very stunning. Everything breathes second rate.

But what is really disturbing is this trend that remakes of old 70s themed movies, comic books, TV shows turn out to be slightly racist, in it's casting and in the story lines.

The evil villain here is Singh. Singh is probably the most common of names in India, like Smith or Lopez or Popov. And in the cast, to replace Guran, an African with an Asian woman??? I like pretty girls as much as anyone, but this is part of a worrying trend that started with Battle Star Galactica, when they replaced colonel Thigh with a white guy.

I guess we have to be thankful that B.A. Barracus isn't some Bubba from Alabama in the new A-Team movie.

The Melancholic Alcoholic.