I came onto this site to read the comments left by other users before seeing this movie. Some of the comments were quite negative, and so I went into the film a bit more jaded than I was previously. I'm a fan of the musical, so hearing that it was disappointing to other fans made it a bit hard to get into the movie at first...but after the Phantom appeared, I was hooked.
What worked: you can see the characters up close. Although the singing voices of the 3 main characters weren't as impressive as the stage actors, I think that they made up for it in believability of the characters. I was particularly impressed with Gerard Butler...he played a role that's definitely not a run-of-the-mill type...and succeeded beautifully in bringing out the humanity in a man who was truly only a monster on the inside. Emily Rossum...I was impressed with her ability to hold her own against the other older, more experienced actors. And Minnie Driver was a hoot as Carlotta. It's too bad she isn't given more character roles, because she really shines in this one! It was also really nice to get the back story behind the Phantom, to see he why he's that way, and to give him a bit more humanity. I saw more than just a disfigured person then...I saw him more as someone who is seriously psychologically damaged and has been neglected by the world. It gives a "little" justification to some of his actions.
What didn't work: my main concern here is the actor that played Raoul. Although he is supposed to be a bit of the classic young, dashing prince, I felt he still was a bit weak. I couldn't put my finger on it what it was in particular, but it might be partially because his character wasn't as developed as Phantom or Christines. I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet...but in a way I found the Phantom to be almost too good looking. I also tended to picture him being a bit older as well, but I wasn't necessarily complaining either...he was eye candy with the mask on. It could have been intentional....that this was a man who could have lived a perfectly normal life, if he hadn't been scarred in such a way. I would have maybe had someone other than Joel Schumacher do the movie, maybe Sam Mendes or someone who is a bit more "arty," but I was pleasantly surprised that he didn't make it an over-dramatic disaster.
Overall, it's a good movie, but Phantom still works better as a stage production. I liked being able to see the characters up close for the first time....when I saw the theater production I had seats up in the 3 balcony, back row so naturally I couldn't see much. Also, I think some of the fans have been a bit too harsh on the movie. Really now, to have Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman...would have worked 15 years ago but now they're getting a bit long in the tooth to play the characters believably. And yes, these actors are not as high of caliber singers, but I think they did a great job still and in some ways infused more emotion into the song then the stage actors.
Finally...all I can say is I'm glad that Joel Schumacher didn't completely mess this one up!
What worked: you can see the characters up close. Although the singing voices of the 3 main characters weren't as impressive as the stage actors, I think that they made up for it in believability of the characters. I was particularly impressed with Gerard Butler...he played a role that's definitely not a run-of-the-mill type...and succeeded beautifully in bringing out the humanity in a man who was truly only a monster on the inside. Emily Rossum...I was impressed with her ability to hold her own against the other older, more experienced actors. And Minnie Driver was a hoot as Carlotta. It's too bad she isn't given more character roles, because she really shines in this one! It was also really nice to get the back story behind the Phantom, to see he why he's that way, and to give him a bit more humanity. I saw more than just a disfigured person then...I saw him more as someone who is seriously psychologically damaged and has been neglected by the world. It gives a "little" justification to some of his actions.
What didn't work: my main concern here is the actor that played Raoul. Although he is supposed to be a bit of the classic young, dashing prince, I felt he still was a bit weak. I couldn't put my finger on it what it was in particular, but it might be partially because his character wasn't as developed as Phantom or Christines. I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet...but in a way I found the Phantom to be almost too good looking. I also tended to picture him being a bit older as well, but I wasn't necessarily complaining either...he was eye candy with the mask on. It could have been intentional....that this was a man who could have lived a perfectly normal life, if he hadn't been scarred in such a way. I would have maybe had someone other than Joel Schumacher do the movie, maybe Sam Mendes or someone who is a bit more "arty," but I was pleasantly surprised that he didn't make it an over-dramatic disaster.
Overall, it's a good movie, but Phantom still works better as a stage production. I liked being able to see the characters up close for the first time....when I saw the theater production I had seats up in the 3 balcony, back row so naturally I couldn't see much. Also, I think some of the fans have been a bit too harsh on the movie. Really now, to have Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman...would have worked 15 years ago but now they're getting a bit long in the tooth to play the characters believably. And yes, these actors are not as high of caliber singers, but I think they did a great job still and in some ways infused more emotion into the song then the stage actors.
Finally...all I can say is I'm glad that Joel Schumacher didn't completely mess this one up!
Tell Your Friends