THE PHANTOM(1996)
This is a lot of fun!! Billy Zane plays Phantom perfectly!
The story starts with the origin of The Phantom, then
progresses into a great story of good over evil! (What
else!?) Scenery is wonderful and the music is perfect for
this great superhero tale! A+
From IMDb.com:
This 100-minute nugget of superhero charm was a lot
more fun than I had expected. I subscribe to Netflix,
the mail-in rental service, so I had forgotten which movie
I had coming next. I groaned slightly when I saw The
Phantom was it.
I started watching, feeling that I was going to be in for a
dud. About a week ago, I rented The Rocketeer---a mildly
entertaining movie with some good moments, but didn't
really add up to a DVD purchase or repeat viewings. I
thought I was in for more of the same, but alas.
The Phantom had all the charm, action and humor missing
from Rocketeer.
I particularly enjoyed the two leads. Billy Zane delivered
the one-liners with aplomb. He has the swagger, voice,
demeanor and charm to carry the role successfully. He
transcends a rather mundane superhero outfit. Treat
Williams gave an amusing turn as the villainous Xander
Drax, ("Starts and ends with X.") Not the typically evil
superhero nemesis, he's more of a lighthearted villain
in the "Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor" mold, but his line
delivery is spot on.
The movie definitely comes alive with the characterizations,
a feel of a time and place early in the 20th century, and
always on the move, but not too much in a hurry to make
you enjoy these characters. I rather liked the idea of a
superhero with a pet horse and wolf.
I'm not sure I've seen a recent superhero film that strikes
a perfect balance of action, humor, sets and characters.
Enough humor to keep me smiling throughout, but mildly
serious enough to engage me for the duration.
Definitely worth a look for those who haven't seen it,
and a future addition to my DVD< collection. - EnriqueH