It is however, pretty good fun.
The Phantom (1996)
The Phantom has been continuously published since 1936 and is in fact one of the first superheroes, predating Superman by two years and Batman by three. Not counting the movie serial made in the 1940's, it took sixty years to get The Phantom to the big screen. Was it worth a wait of sixty years? Definitely not. Even by action adventure movie standards The Phantom is a slapped together piece of work. For the nitpicky around here, there are a wealth of oportunities to pick holes in this film. A few of them. Horses and wolves can run faster than a biplane flies, the jungle is full of CGI Blue screens, when you jump from a biplane to a horse you change body shape and facial features completely and ancient jungle skulls and rings can generate laser beams.
But this is The Phantom, and if you are in any way fan of the character, you will know what to expect. The Phantom punching out bad guys, rescuing captive gals, and being mysterious.
I like The Phantom, I have been reading the strip on and off for the past twenty years or so. I also like this movie, but it definitely isn't very well crafted. It does set out to do what it aims for, and that is give us an adventure full of cliched villains, heroic good guys and a moralistic main character. I always feel more positive after watching The Phantom.
Three Darios (for the feel good factor, and the fact it co-stars Patrick MacGoohan)
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