The Phantom (1996)

Plot Outline: The Phantom, "the ghost who walks, the man who cannot die" and also the man who wears a tight purple lycra suit is a descendant in a long line of African heroes. His job is to stop a criminal mastermind from obtaining 3 skulls which would give him unlimited power.

The Review: Only a few comic book heroes have really gone on to big screen success. This is not one of them and turns into a flat action flick. However its not for the want of trying. It doesn't take itself seriously at all from the start and whereas other adaptations have put style over substance, this one manages to balance them both quite well. It is like watching a big screen version of the old pulp serials (in fact it's even like watching Indiana Jones in a suspect purple costume at times!). Billy Zane is good as the Phantom. Comic book heroes need to have some level of normality about them and thankfully Zane manages to balance the needs of his "everyday Joe" quality with the physicality needed to become the Phantom. Treat Williams is completely over-the-top as the bad guy and camps it up well. Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer) might look good but she doesn't have enough on-screen presence to make her a believable leading lady (although at least she doesn't scream and act dumb like some other damsels-in-distress). Catherine Zeta-Jones also stars as Williams' henchwoman. She must have been taking lessons from him on how to play camp bad buys because she is just as bad in this as he is. Possibly the problem with this is it is too simplistic. The action isn't very intense, it's not very violent and there isn't a great deal of sexuality and blood involved. It is a perfect family film - unfortunately because it doesn't push the boundaries very much, it faded away into the background as more controversial films barged their way through and more famous comic book heroes were given more air time.

Final Verdict: It's not going to offend me in any way because of it's low key approach and I enjoyed watching it when I did. But it's instantly forgettable compared to more superior comic book films such as Batman Returns and Superman.

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