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There appears to be alot of Phantom fans on this site, given the response to the new eight inch figure Castaway toys is putting out. Just curious what people thought of the 1996 film with Billy Zane. We alluded to it briefly when we were discussing the new SCI-FI project, but we didn't get into any great detail. Lord knows I need the details! 
So here goes...
This was one of those films where I liked as many things as I disliked. I thought the literal interpretation of the Phantom costume was descent. Zane was properly buffed out and really looked like his comic counterpart. But I thought he needed to be filmed in night shots where atmospheric lighting would have played off the costume (like the poster below suggests). That outfit just doesn't lend itself to broad daylight scenes. When he comes charging out of the cave in the opening sequence there's nothing in his appearance to make those treasure thieves feel threatened. Had it been a night sequence I could see some dramatic elements that would lend to his tag of being the "Ghost who walks". Just explaining that line away as being a myth amongst the local community even though the Phantom shows himself during the day doesn't hold much water. I think even the most ancient of tribes would have caught on it was just a number of different people wearing the costume through the years.
I didn't care much for the villian, Xander Drax, because he was too flip in his characterization. Almost too comical to be taken seriously. And Kabai Sengh seemed like an afterthought since he had so little film time and was as easily disposed of as his henchmen. I loved the choreography of the island and the 30's-style city and vintage cars. Nice touches. The skulls were okay but looked almost too plastic-like to be considered old ancient artifacts. It also didn't make sense that previous Phantoms had not taken the time to locate the skulls that were on the very island they protected (strange). But I liked the innocence of the script treatment. I think it was trying to grasp the feel of the early comic strips. While the results were mixed I give it an "A' for effort. Overall it was a fun movie but could have been enormously improved upon had a better director with a broader scope of ideas been involved in the project. I also like the posters for the film. Too bad you didn't get those shots in the movie!
So here goes...This was one of those films where I liked as many things as I disliked. I thought the literal interpretation of the Phantom costume was descent. Zane was properly buffed out and really looked like his comic counterpart. But I thought he needed to be filmed in night shots where atmospheric lighting would have played off the costume (like the poster below suggests). That outfit just doesn't lend itself to broad daylight scenes. When he comes charging out of the cave in the opening sequence there's nothing in his appearance to make those treasure thieves feel threatened. Had it been a night sequence I could see some dramatic elements that would lend to his tag of being the "Ghost who walks". Just explaining that line away as being a myth amongst the local community even though the Phantom shows himself during the day doesn't hold much water. I think even the most ancient of tribes would have caught on it was just a number of different people wearing the costume through the years.
I didn't care much for the villian, Xander Drax, because he was too flip in his characterization. Almost too comical to be taken seriously. And Kabai Sengh seemed like an afterthought since he had so little film time and was as easily disposed of as his henchmen. I loved the choreography of the island and the 30's-style city and vintage cars. Nice touches. The skulls were okay but looked almost too plastic-like to be considered old ancient artifacts. It also didn't make sense that previous Phantoms had not taken the time to locate the skulls that were on the very island they protected (strange). But I liked the innocence of the script treatment. I think it was trying to grasp the feel of the early comic strips. While the results were mixed I give it an "A' for effort. Overall it was a fun movie but could have been enormously improved upon had a better director with a broader scope of ideas been involved in the project. I also like the posters for the film. Too bad you didn't get those shots in the movie!
-Tallahassee 
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