Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 42
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 24
The script gives Billy Zane little to work with, and thus he plays the Phantom as a friendly but completely one-dimensional hero.
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 7
The script gives Billy Zane little to work with, and thus he plays the Phantom as a friendly but completely one-dimensional hero.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.3/5
User Ratings: 42,450
The first superhero ever, created by Lee Falk in 1936, gets another shot at movie stardom 60 years after achieving fame in comics and serials. Billy Zane stars as Kit Walker, who discovers that he's the 21st in a line of purple-clad African superheroes known as "The Phantom" or, to superstitious Bengalla Island natives, "the Ghost Who Walks." When he's not fighting the evil Singh Brotherhood with his faithful wolf Devil and white horse Hero, the Phantom lives in the hidden Skull Cave. Kit
Jun 7, 1996 Wide
May 25, 1999
Paramount Home Video
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (24) | DVD (6)
As the Phantom, Billy Zane, buff to the max, has a likable insouciance, but there's not much he can do to flesh out this relic.
While it hardly stands to vanquish the celluloid incarnations of Superman and Batman, this version of an older cartoon crusader's exploits does have a pleasingly astute sense of its place in the great scheme of things pulp.
Expect this ghost of bad movies past to walk quickly to the back bins of Blockbuster, where it should be filed under a helpful heading, monotonous and juvenile.
It's nice to see some things done the old way.
If Treat Williams were the Phantom and Billy Zane the capitalist villain would any significant nuances be lost?
The pleasures are familiar, but not the least bit inspired.
The result is oddly ineffectual and sometimes just plain dull.
If the biggest problem with costumed superheroes is those silly costumes, the venerable comic-book crimefighter known as the Phantom (Billy Zane) has a bigger problem than most.
Our grim avengers of the 21st century could use some reminding that it's okay to smile once in awhile and that 'fun' should be more than just an afterthought when stories of this ilk are told.
This belated, albeit decorative adaptation looks tamely second-hand.
[It] could have been much worse.
Billy Zane proves he should be Superman, and Catherine Zeta-Jones breaks out before Zorro. Very campy, but well worth it.
Anyone looking for comic-strip excitement could do a lot worse.
If you cross Indiana Jones with Tarzan and mix in some 'Goonies' type pirate tomfoolery then you pretty much have this fun cheesy boys own adventure. Actually if I think about it some more you could also throw in some camp Batman and Robin from the classic 60's series in certain sequences, it does get alittle bit too
May 9, 2009Super Reviewer
Heeheehee, this movie is foolishness. This might be the simplest superhero movie I've ever seen. The only thing about The Phantom that's not lilac-scented and squeaky clean is the fact that he's got a skull on his ring. I'm still not clear exactly why it's the source of his power. Actually, there's not a heck of a lot
August 23, 2009Super Reviewer
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