The Pros and Cons of the Phantom Movie.

[PhantomMag234]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 11:52pm

After watching the Phantom on DVD (again), I finally figured that there are some bad things about the movie but there are some good things about the movie. Let's start with the cons:

1. Gerard Butler's singing-Though he did try hard to get it right it wasn't engouh (well for me) to get it to Micheal Crawford standards

2. The moving around of some scenes-What I mean is they moved scenes around to kinda make it different from the show.

3. Bad Dubbing-In the "Prima Donna" musical number there are a few times when Carlotta (Minnie Driver)'s lips don't move and she's still singing.

Here are the pros (I apologize if are more pros than cons):

1. Emmy Rossum-I mean come on she was so much better than Sarah Brightman! Emmy delivered a much more clean and crisp sound than what Sarah delivered (beacuse Sarah sounded like she had a nasel problem). And the producers wanted to stay true to the orginal idea from the novel that Christine was a 17 year-old who during the course of the story blooms into womanhood. So that cuts down the list of potential actresses who can sing high opera and still fit in that age group.

2. Patrick Wilson-I kinda liked the way Raoul was protrayed in the movie (which was the romantic hero). Because in the show he dosen't do alot.

3. Gerard Butler's Acting-Gerard's singing as the Phantom may have the worst singing I ever heard but his acting was a different story. I would say he protrayed the Phantom as a tourted soul.

4. Madame Giry's first encounter with the Phantom-I mean it is much more clearer in the movie than it is on the stage.

5. The Color Scheme to "Masquade"-I liked the way they did Masquade in the movie. Because if they did the color scheme they had in the stage show, it would look very choatic and messy on film.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 12:05am

The only flawless quality of that film was the DIVINE Minnie Driver.

[collins]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 12:06am

I waited years for this movie because I didn't think I'd ever see it on stage, and just a few months after the movie came out, I got to see it on tour in Atlanta. Anyway, I'm no film student, but I thought this was one of the best movies I've ever seen.....except for Gerard and Emmy. I prefer Sarah to Emmy because, although Sarah does sound nasal, she has a much more powerful voice than Emmy. Emmy is a pretty girl, and looks the part, but just isn't convincing as an opera diva. Gerard was too pretty. Come on, a handsome Phantom?? And he couldn't sing. One of his worst lines in the movie to me is at the end when he sings "Go now, go now and leave meeee..." Bleh.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 12:12am

PROS:
-Great sets, great costumes
-It's very true to the source material
-Patrick Wilson was a good choice for Raoul

CONS:
-Gerard Butler cannot sing
-Gerard Butler is physically wrong for the role
-Gerard Butler just sucks in general
-Emmy Rossum was too young, both character-wise and vocally
-Most of the rest of the cast wasn't very good either
-That stupid swordfight

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 12:13am

Gerard Butler should never have been cast as the Phantom, and but they should at least have had someone else sing the part. I don't like the whole "but he's a good actor" excuse, because vocal prowess is such an integral part of the character, and without that the Phantom is nothing. Emmy Rossum has a pretty lower range but her upper range is very thin and she could never realistically pass as an operatic prima donna; still, I didn't mind her singing. She's so vacant as an actress, though, even for Christine.

The editing was, on the whole, VERY bad. Cutting to the annoying black and white scenes throughout the film brought the action to a screetching halt. Weird editing and cuts to the poorer people interfered with the Masquerade scene.

I can't help but feel that they went the wrong direction with this project in general. They cast someone young and studly as the Phantom (...whom Christine is supposed to mistake for the ghost of her father), and didn't even make him that hideously deformed after all. I didn't like Butler's interpretation of the role, which made the Phantom seem brutish and rough, but correspondingly less sympathetic. We're supposed to feel pity for the Phantom, but this doesn't come across for me in the movie. Updated On: 11/30/05 at 12:13 AM