The Phantom Blu-ray delivers great video and superb audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
Kit Walker discovers that he's the 21st in a line of purple-clad African superheroes known as "The Phantom" or,
to superstitious Bengalla Island natives, "the Ghost Who Walks." As Kit learns how to deal with his other
identity he find outs that Xander Drax, a slimy industrialist, is plotting to take over the world by uniting the
three long lost magical Skulls of Touganda. So he travels to New York, where he finds allies in crusading
newspaper publisher Dave and his niece, Diana, who's also Kit's ex-girlfriend. Kit and Diana tackle Drax's
forces, including the conflicted Sala, in a quest for the Skulls that brings both sides back to Bengalla for a
showdown.
Four years before X-Men touched off the triumphant return of the comic book film adaptation, Lee Falk's The Phantom received an unsuccessful introduction to a new generation of comic book fans. Unable to fully recoup the film's budget during the theatrical run, Paramount unceremoniously dumped the film onto DVD, where it generated newfound respect among the home theater community. I can't honestly say the film deserves a cult following, but when you accept the vintage of the original comic series (1936), and the intentional use of campy elements in the cinematic adaptation, it becomes easier to forgive the deficiencies on display. After all, how do you make a hero look tough while wearing purple spandex and riding around on a white horse?
Notice the look on the child's face as he evaluates the costume choice.
As the film opens, we witness a young boy wash ashore on the remote island of Bengalla. Orphaned and alone, the boy is taken in by local natives who bestow a ring on him and raise the child as their own. Flash forward to the present day, and we're introduced to a group of treasure hunters in the employment of a criminal businessman named Xander Drax (Treat Williams). The four goons are successful in tracking down a silver skull for their employer, but before they can make a clean getaway a purple suited figure emerges from the jungle with twin pistols blazing. After a failed attempt to acquire the relic from the grave-robbers, The Phantom (Billy Zane) researches the history of the silver skull, and discovers the collective power of three artifacts known as the "Skulls of Touganda", which hold the key to world domination. Fearing the consequences if the skulls fall into the wrong hands, The Phantom travels to the United States in search of the remaining two pieces. Along the way, he crosses paths with his college sweetheart Diana Palmer (Kristy Swanson), and encounters a seductive air pirate named Sala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who join in the hunt for the remaining skulls. With the fate of the world in his hands, The Phantom begins a globe-trotting journey to prevent a psychotic businessman from wielding the ultimate power.
Some comic book series simply don't translate well to the big screen. For every successful adaptation (The Crow, Sin City, Dark Knight), there are equally disappointing entries (Daredevil, Elektra, The Spirit). Unfortunately, The Phantom falls into the latter category, with an overwhelming goofiness I've never been able to get past. Perhaps it can be attributed to the hokey look of a hero dressed in purple tights, but I'd wager it has more to do with the overall production. Australian director Simon Wincer spent the years leading up to The Phantom making films geared toward children (Free Willy, Lightning Jack, Operation Dumbo Drop), but he never manages to settle on a target audience for this outing. A portion of the film is geared toward children, who find it easier to accept unrealistic action, plotholes around every bend, and the overall campy nature of the film. However, just when you think the production is firmly planted in juvenile entertainment, something entirely adult is thrown into the mix (a business associate of Drax is impaled with a spear, someone's shot across a cave by a cannon ball, and the beautiful Sala has dialogue loaded with sexual innuendo). Designing a film that's geared toward a wide audience is never a bad idea, but The Phantom accomplishes the ironic task of remaining unappealing to most age groups. I'm assuming Wincer planned his superhero debut with the intention of mixing the best aspects of Indiana Jones with Richard Donner's Superman adaptation, but the end result is a bit messy.
I wish I could say matters improve with the acting and production values, but those elements seem to mirror the uneven aspects of the film itself. Billy Zane probably wishes he hadn't lobbied extensively for the leading role, and instead followed the career path he'd established in Dead Calm. If you remove a handful of bad choices from his resume, I'd imagine he'd be standing among Hollywood's elite rather than settling for one straight-to-video production after another. Kristy Swanson and Treat Williams suffered the same fate as Zane, watching their careers take a dramatic turn in the years surrounding the release of The Phantom, but unlike Swanson's forgettable performance as Diana Palmer, I can at least offer lukewarm praise for William's over-the-top performance as Xander Drax. We never doubt his vicious nature, yet there's something oddly charming about the power-hungry businessman. Rounding out the main cast is Catherine Zeta-Jones, who managed to use The Phantom as a springboard for future "looker" roles in The Mask of Zorro and Entrapment. There's no denying the sexy element she brings to the character of Sala, though my cinematic heart still belongs to Kristy Swanson. Moving along to the production values of the feature, I've always been impressed with the scope of the various sets that are utilized in the film. Paramount delivered an adequate budget to give viewers everything they desired out of a superhero blockbuster, and in most cases the end product is worth a visit. However, it's still important to note there are several areas where the special effects look horribly dated (even by 1996 standards). Adding to the diminished "cool-factor" of the film, the fight choreography appears to be one step up from ballet theatre, with bad guys that move extremely slow, and a complete lack of realistic contact. Heck, the dance-fighting in West Side Story looked tougher than this.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 21Mbps) The Phantom looks surprisingly good on this high-definition release. Detail remains above average in all but a handful of scenes, revealing fine textures in the fabric of clothing and every individual leaf in the jungle canopy. Close-up shots fair the best, as intricate facial features lend plenty of opportunity for the transfer to truly shine. Lionsgate occasionally falls prey to the use of DNR in films of this vintage, but the presence of occasional grain coupled with the well-rendered textures left me with the impression this was not tampered material. Alas, there are a handful of instances where mild edge enhancement rears its head, but the occurrences are limited to medium distance shots, and won't likely be noticeable by those with an average-sized display (and normal viewing distance). Adding to the proficiency of the visual presentation, I was struck by the beauty of the color palette in the film, which encompasses several stunning tropical locations. In particular, the volcanic island in the latter portion reveals lush greens and deep blues, which contrast nicely with the crimson red of Sala's seaplane. Likewise, black levels never ascend into grayish territory, allowing contrast adequate differentiation between various shades, and adding to the overall depth of the image. There are still several low-lit indoor sequences that struggle to produce a proficient level of contrast, but it appears those scenes are more a by-product of photography in the original print, and not the fault of the transfer. If anything, I'd rather witness those scenes as director Simon Wincer intended, rather than suffer through unnatural brightness boosting.
In the end, this is a substantial improvement over the prior standard definition offering, and should please any fans of film.
Adding to the above average technical presentation, Lionsgate has once again delivered an awe-inspiring lossless 7.1 mix that you'll need to hear to fully appreciate. Out of all the studios, Lionsgate ranks at the head of the pack when it comes to delivering value-added audio presentations on their budget catalog titles. In this particular case, the result is much better than I expected, and elevates the on-screen action beyond its campy roots. I don't recall the audio presentation incorporating such an epic feel, so listening to the rousing musical score almost made me reconsider my attitude toward the film itself. Composer David Newman certainly knows his way around a comedy production, but in the case of The Phantom, he's able to draw on the sense of adventure found in the best of John Williams work to infuse a sense of style that fits the setting. Adding to the robust nature of the track, I found the separation among various channels quite extensive, pulling the viewer into the over-the-top action. In many cases the effects are just as cheesy as the story itself, but I don't count that as a negative, since it complements the personality of the film. Lastly, I never discovered a single element in the sound design that seemed overpowering or out of balance with the rest of the nuances in the track. Dialog was crisp and clear, emerging almost exclusively from the center channel, which never appeared problematic when considering the amount of material sent to the surround channels. All in all, this is a wonderful value-added audio experience, and Lionsgate deserves kudos for their continued dedication to 7.1 sound design.
In the end, The Phantom is only a worthwhile purchase if you have a nostalgic attraction to the film. From day one, I've been underwhelmed by the outlandish nature of the comic book character, and the cinematic adaptation hasn't done much to reverse that opinion. For those that disagree with my level of enthusiasm for Billy Zane in purple tights, this is a substantial improvement from a technical standpoint, and well-worth the attractively low retail price.
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