The Phantom (1996)

I'd never seen this movie until a couple of months ago, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I've since seen it twice more, and still enjoy it! What some reviewers don't seem to grasp is that it is supposed to be fun, not serious. It's not competition for Indiana Jones, it's simply the story of the Phantom. If the over-the-top performance of Treat Williams was not enough to tell viewers that it is just entertainment, the performance of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa should have let them know that this is not Hamlet. Watch and enjoy.

I watched the movie on dvd recently and used to watch it as a kid. It's more of a classic movie of the late nineties and has that feel. It's a great movie for those who like to revist the hollywood scene 2 decades ago before when things like internet, social media became the modern fascination, and people had a lot of curioisty and original mystery in their movie making.

This is one of those movies that you have no idea how to react at it. It takes itself seriously, but it became so campy and over the top that it ends being extremely funny.The phantom is the XXI generation of guys that have liven in the middle of nowhere, defending the jungle from... pirates that killed everyone the first ever phantom loved... from the middle of the jungle. It is never really explained what is in his territory (he has a territory, but he saves everyone... for some reason) or something about the pirates but whatever.He disguises himself in a freaking purple suit in the middle of the jungle!Whatever, lets continue.He must stop the newer... newish... kinda pirates, who kidnap a girl that knows too much, that by pure coincidence is known by the phantom... from the middle of the jungle... because he studied in the United Stated for some reason... even though he does not know what a dollar is... whatever.You know what? it is campy and terribly retarded, but it is very funny if you turn your brain down. And I mean down. It is based in a campy old comic, what could I have expected of it? It is extremely moronic. Don't think too much and you will find it good for passing the minutes being lazy. Do not expect a brain challenge or logic.

This movie knows it is awful, and it doesn't even have the good sense to poke fun at itself. A nod or a wink to let you know that the people who made it are aware of what they're making. The dialog plays out like a conversation between three pre-teens. The action is similarly brainless. Hint: Horses can't run faster than airplanes, and loose nets that drop from the ceiling aren't really effective traps. I don't think I heard a convincing spoken word or saw a convincing action sequence during the whole movie.It's so entirely terrible, that I kind of want to charge HBO rent for letting it play on my TV.