When I saw this tagline attached to the movie The Phantom, I really didn't care. The movie wasn't hyped up as much as other movies in 1996, and due to that fact I did not see it in its theater run. Later on, I expressed some regret about not seeing the film because (a) it was a superhero movie, and all of those movies should be given a chance and (b)I had heard of the Phantom before.
I first encountered the legend of The Phantom through the cartoon Defenders of the Earth, an ensemble superhero group that fought against Ming the Merciless. Their ranks included jungle heroes the 22nd Phantom and Lothar, space hero Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician and their respective descendants (Jedda Walker, Rick Gordon, L.J. and the orphan Kshin, respectively). The purple-tighted Phantom didn't seem like much because of his lack of super powers or any well-known, establishing feats. Thus, it was not inferred that he was the leader and was relegated to the shadows (like Batman) while Flash and the others led the charge. Want for a cloistered life is not indicative of a crime fighter 22 generations in the making. That changed with another animated production starring the Phantom.
Phantom 2040 is about the 24th Phantom and his adventures in the future. The show had an awesome theme song that screamed FUTURE and the character designs were created by Peter Chung (of Aeon Flux fame). Thus watching the show automatically became a guilty pleasure. The show didn't last long, but the idea that a hero can lack superpowers and NOT be a brooding shadow all the time(ah, the comic-book heroes of the 1990's) was refreshing. And so, I approached the VHS copy of the Phantom with an open mind and respect for the Ghost Who Walks.
Our story is about the Walker family line and its curious fetish for domino masks and dark clothing. Why do they do this, you ask? Many years ago, the Walker family line (formerly Standish) was nearly ended by the machinations of greedy pirates. Crucified on an African beach and his son left to watch, the elder Standish begged vengeance from his son. With the hate of piracy and evil in his heart, the first Phantom was born.
Obviously, the Phantom is a mortal. He goes about his days as a man and can die just like any other through age or various other means. As such, when a Phantom dies, his son immediately takes his place. That is why villains believe that the Phantom never dies--"The Ghost Who Walks"--and fear him with great trembling.
The movie concerns the 21st Phantom, Kit Walker (Billy Zane), who inherits the Phantom mantle from his father, the 20th Phantom (Patrick McGoohan). Phantom #20 dies fighting the ruthless pirate king Kabai Sengh (character actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), and word is passed across the Atlantic. Soon Kit has to leave all that he knows, including his fiancee, Diana Palmer (Kristy Swanson).
Kit's on the case about three mystical skulls that, when joined, release a great power. In the wrong hands, the power invested in the mystical skulls could conquer the world. Such are the plans of Mr. Xander Drax (Treat Williams)--businessman, industrialist and part-time gangster. With the help of his henchmen Quill (James Remar) and the devious, skintight leather-clad aviatrix Sala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Xander Drax gets his hands on two of the three skulls. Encountering both Kit and the Phantom at several points in the movie, the evil Drax never puts two and two together. Such is his downfall, for none escape the wrath of The Phantom!
Once the movie reaches a state of normalcy, the skulls are in their rightful places, Diana has joined Kit in Africa and they are set to bring in the next generation of the Phantom, even after finding out they are related by blood--
Wait, they're related? And they're trying to have KIDS? Saint Lazaro on crutches, no wonder the 23rd Phantom didn't last long--he was inbred! Incest aside, the movie was great and needs to be visited by many a new-school comic fan. Maybe it'll let 'em know that there's more to heroism than mutants, ninjas, half-naked women and giant robots.
CHOICE CUTS:
- Every time the Phantom's Indian manservant spoke, he was giving lip service. He's found a way to make "the Ghost Who Walks" into a slur.
- Catherine Zeta-Jones in a skintight leather catsuit. The next time we see her in something like this is Entrapment with Sean Connery.
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Once again, in the role of a villain. Although Asian villains are played out to death, it's his power of annunciation that makes him the best villain for one's money. Much like Doctor Doom if he was for hire.
- The whole city of Manhattan and its Art Deco style really makes me love this movie, what with the streamlines and everything.
- The scene where the Phantom hitches a ride on a trans-Atlantic flight on a seaplane by hanging on to a landing flotilla...for the entire trip. When he got off the plane, his eyes were so red and his skin whipped from flying, that whoever stood in his way of retrieving the skulls would either catch his unconscious body or die a highly sadistic death.
It turns out that Quill is an agent for the Brotherhood of Pirates, run by the Great Kabai Sengh. Sengh also wants the skulls, but wants the Phantom eliminated also. When Quill returns with the Phantom's weapon belt, this exchange takes place on the deck of Sengh's moored pirate ship:
I've killed the Phantom!The Phantom would get a 7, but the late-breaking news of incest brings it down a notch to 6.
Join the club. We've all killed him over the years. He keeps coming back.
RATING: 6/10
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