The Phantom

[1996]

Directed by Simon Wincer | Featuring Billy Zane, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Patrick McGoohan | Written by Jeffrey Boam & Lee Falk

Before watching The Phantom I had never seen a film that was so boringly exciting. The pacing drags, especially in the first two acts, and just about every aspect of the film oddly disappointed. But I never lost interest. And I didn’t stop watching. The Phantom has an almost hypnotic boredom to it. On one hand, everything feels so uninteresting. Yet, it’s an enjoyable uninteresting – if there’s even such a thing.

The Phantom character was created way back in 1936, and even as of 2019 still runs as a continual weekly comic strip. And while I’m fairly unfamiliar with the character, I’ll certainly nod in appreciation of such a feat. On top of that, The Phantom is considered the very first costumed hero – at least the first to sport a skintight suit! Certainly a groundbreaking and inspirational legacy character! So it’s no wonder a feature film was made somewhere down the line.

The film begins with a humorous opening text ‘For those who came in late…’ as a retelling of the character’s origin begins, accompanied by visual flashback. This would have been an even funnier little additive had the post-flashback story not started out so leisurely; although the gag works nevertheless. Right from the first frame the brilliant set design and costumes are contrasted by some neat smoky fog, bursting explosions, and brawling swordfights on the pirate ship. We follow a small boy, who later becomes the Phantom, as he watches his father be ruthlessly murdered by some bloodthirsty pirates.

But these pirates were part of an evil brotherhood – something that comes into play later.

Towards the end of the film, we see the Phantom recount said backstory again for the rescued damsel and principal love interest, Diana. It’s like a nice callback to the intro – but makes one humorously wonder. What if that opening line was meant for someone just now entering the theater?

As the backstory ends, we find ourselves following a jungle expedition of some tough and morally questionable adventurers, accompanied by a small native boy. They ride along in their truck, mixing up directions on a map – before coming to a dangling rope bridge overseeing a large drop into a shallow river below. This is an odd place to jump to, as, I was pretty sure none of these characters were our titular hero; and so the whole sequence feels like an introduction into pointless side characters we’ll never see again (partially right) as a way to segue into The Phantom’s bombastic introduction. That worked in Batman 1989 because the opening lost tourists/robbing sequence is fairly short. And Batman is teased several times before revealing himself from the shadows, taking the goons out rather quickly, and announcing himself triumphantly. Here, we follow ‘the generic bad guys’ for what feels like ages before one is killed by a skeleton. And in plain view of one of his comrades! Was this The Phantom using some wires? Was this a legitimate supernatural event? It’s never explained.

As the treasure stealers rush away, The Phantom readies himself (gets out of a chair), jumping onto his steed and rides through the jungle after them. Knocking some of them out, he’s unable to stop them completely, staying with their truck as it drives full force into the rope bridge. Untying the native boy whom the treasure hunters had left to die, he swings away just as the truck falls into the gorge below, exploding on impact as the bridge above completely collapses. One of these hunters managed to get away with a stolen skull, bringing it back with him to New York.

Sounds like an impressive opening, although the pacing is rather slow, and I found myself struggling to remember the exact events not less than twenty minutes post-film as, in retrospect, a lot of the jungle locations look fairly similar – and it sort of meshes together in the mind.

In New York, we’re introduced to the main love interest, Diana, as well as the film’s villain, Xander Drax – a rich and power hungry socialite with shady mob connections. In the context of the period piece, set in 1938, this is an imaginable threat – this same era saw the rise of dictators in Europe as the eve of World War II drove near. Yet, aside from the scattered reminders of location and era throughout, not a lot screams 1930’s about this film to me. Sure, the men dress up and the women, Diana aside, wear glitzy dresses – but that’s not particularly something exclusive to the 1930’s. And, since the Phantom is basically a costumed proto-superhero; Diana’s outfit is really our only window into the time period costume design wise. She wears a sleek Amelia Earhart-esque get-up which, admittedly, seems a bit out of place otherwise.

Throughout the film we certainly get glimpses of the period what with the set designs, classic automobiles, and even a Pan Am reference – however, I’ve seen it all done much better elsewhere. The Rocketeer, a film cut of a similar jib, does a much more universal job of securing the time period in one’s mind. As did shows like The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and even cartoons like Disney’s Talespin. The Flash, another television series from the 1990’s, similarly inspired by the pulpy first Tim Burton Batman film, actually features just as many, if not more retro vehicles, locals, and throwbacks – albeit in a ‘present day’ setting – complete with computers, forensics, and themes common in the 1990s – all while seamlessly meshing with the old. Had I not watched The Flash first, I might have been more willing to accept the strict period dating, however The Phantom sorta just kinda feels lost in time – not really sure of whether it’s the 1930’s or just a present day backlot. And that’s sort of astonishing since, on their own, the sets and locations are rather beautifully crafted throughout.

We cut back and forth between the villains in the jungle and the villains back in New York before The Phantom finally follows them back to the big apple, revealing himself at around the same time Kit Walker reappears. No wonder Diana was so easily able to discover his true identity by the end!

The film wraps up with a rhyming climax as The Phantom takes on some pirates in an immense showdown, before confronting Drax, who’s finally discovered ‘unlimited power’ upon merging three of the ancient skulls of power together. The pacing issues slowly fade as the film continues on and by the final act things finally feel like they’re moving at a standard pace. The third act is definitely the saving grace of this film, and, on its own, is actually very entertaining standalone.

The actors all do decent jobs, although I feel that a few characters could have perhaps been better cast. The Academy award winning Catherine Zeta-Jones seems to be hamming it in here, never really establishing herself as a potential romantic bad-girl rival to Kristy Swanson’s lead. And I don’t know whether it’s just the performance, the directing, or if potentially crucial scenes were cut or something, but Treat Williams plays a really lackluster lead villain. They say a hero’s only as good as his villain, and Xander Drax, while suave and sinister upon first introduction, quickly looks the buffoon – mostly relying on his goons and connections for dealing with the Phantom. Almost a non-villain. I was actually surprised when he wasn’t ran through by a pirate and even survived long enough to become a threat in his own right with the three skulls’ power. However, the scene really has no tension as Williams isn’t a particularly menacing figure. More of a background gambler who’s girl is stolen by James Bond than a power hungry, conniving adversary.

Billy Zane does perhaps the best job here. His booming voice is perfect for a super hero and his eyes really strike though the domino mask when he’s in full costume – lending legitimacy to the potentially laughable purple spandex suit. As Kit Walker he feels a little misguided, however. While he works well off of Swanson, alone he sort of doesn’t have much to do – just as much the fault of the screenplay as is Zane. It’s clear he had a lot more fun playing The Phantom, and, if a sequel should ever be made, I’d jump to see him in the role again. Fantastic, if slightly unbalanced, performance.

The Phantom’s suit is perhaps the film’s worst asset. If you’ve turned away from watching just because of its silly look, I beg you to at least give the film a chance. Not saying you’ll necessarily like it, but the film’s a decent enough experience. I can’t say I was disappointed – just that I was a little boringly hooked. If that’s even a thing.

In the original comic strip the character sports a solid-colored purple get-up. In the film, however, the costume has an odd tattoo-reminiscent sort of drawn on muscle sort of spiky flowery detailing. It’s almost completely unnoticeable in the darker lit scenes, but in certain shots (usually close ups) and especially on the sunny beach at the very end – the costume’s simply distracting. The eyes can’t quite look away as the costume nearly seems as if it’s being worn inside-out. The thick seam lines over the shoulders don’t help either. This odd detailing, also, is a sort of slightly darker purplish – and comes across like black detailing showing through from the other side. It’s all sort of a mess. The cowl is nice though, and head-shots perfectly match the comic counterpart.

David Newman’s musical score is another highlight, although not particularly memorable, especially when compared to similar films of the era like Danny Elfman’s iconic Batman score or James Horner’s The Rocketeer uplifting melodies.

As a piece of entertainment, The Phantom falls short. Yet I don’t feel that I’ve spent a single wasted minute. This strange and singular experience could be chalked up to the varied use of practical effects and explosions, or perhaps the admittedly high-point; cinematography – but, I doubt it. Something about this film was just enjoyable enough that I couldn’t look away. But it didn’t prevent me from yawning.

I give the film a 2 stars, but would actually recommend it. I did prefer it to the films of the MCU and, while not particularly iconic in its own right, was time well spent. I could certainly get into the character in the future. His look is pretty cool, and it’s amazing that the original story is still running, Billy Zane made him awesome, and this film was perfectly decent – if a little boring. I’d certainly watch it again on a rainy day; but perhaps only then.