BEFORE: Well, that was another film about a time-jumper. And I'm itching to get back to that topic, but no channel has run "Hot Tub Time Machine" yet. What's the hold-up? But "Prince of Persia" finally provides a link that helps me make my way back to superheroes. Which is a topic I've covered before, but I got a bunch of new DVDs at Christmastime, and the pay channels have been kind in running the last few films that I needed for this upcoming chain.
Linking from last night's film, Ben Kingsley was in the film "Bloodrayne" with Billy Zane, making his first appearance in the countdown - yeah, that seems about right.
THE PLOT: The Phantom, descendent of a line of African heroes, travels to New York to thwart a criminal genius.
AFTER: This seems like another one of those films where the timing was just a bit off - it was released in 1996, after the first "Batman" film wave had cooled off, but before the "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" films made superheroes hot again. These things go in cycles, and no one can control them.
In terms of tone, this one is way too campy. Audiences seem to like some humor in their superhero movies, but not too much. It's a delicate balance to strike - and sometimes when the characters take it too seriously, it just comes off as ridiculous. Superheroes can wisecrack like Spider-Man does, but there's a limit to how far actors can take that.
The Phantom always seemed like an odd character to me - he lived in the jungle, but he wasn't like Tarzan. He had no super-powers, just fighting ability and I think a bunch of gadgets, yet he had no visible source of income. Also he was descended from a long line of Phantoms, which allowed the cartoonist to set a storyline in just about any era in the last few centuries. But there was never an awkward transitional period where the old Phantom was too old to run around in tights, and he hadn't trained the new Phantom to take over yet. I guess they were just lucky that when one Phantom died or retired, his son was just about ready to take over the job.
This film seemed like an attempt to cross-pollinate the superhero film with an Indiana Jones-style action film. There's a quest for some artifacts, three skulls made of different materials, and getting all three together would enable someone to (what else?) take over the world. Because you don't run all over looking for three magic skulls just to put them up on your mantlepiece.
Beyond that, there's not much of a story here, they didn't give the characters much to do besides going from Point A to Point B, and having the villains threaten people with guns and/or swords. And I fail to see how the skulls enable someone to take over the world, considering what happened when they were all finally brought together.
It's somewhat amusing when the Phantom, aka Kit Walker, has to travel to 1930's New York City, and it becomes a real "fish-out-of-water" experience. And wouldn't you know that the woman who gets caught up in everything is someone he knows from his school days - what are the chances of that? She'd probably become Mrs. Phantom and the mother to the next Phantom if the movie went on a little longer, or maybe they were saving that for the sequel that never got made.
But wait, how did young Kit Walker go to prep school, if his father was the last Phantom - wouldn't he have been home-schooled on Bengallah Island, and trained from day 1 to take over the gig? Something doesn't add up here.
The Phantom also has imaginary (?) conversations with his father, the last Phantom, at least until he can avenge his death. Hey, take the advice while you can get it, I suppose - but maybe it's time to start seeing someone about your mental condition, if you're talking to dead people.
NITPICK POINT: The Phantom rode on the outside of a sea-plane? All the way from New York to some tropical island in the Indian Ocean? Isn't that, like, 14 hours of hanging on? Plus, wouldn't they have needed to stop the plane to refuel?
NITPICK POINT #2: The lead female villain seemed to switch allegiances in the middle of a fight scene. Just one line of dialogue, and suddenly she's on your side? I'm not buying it.
Also starring Kristy Swanson (last seen in "Hot Shots!"), Catherine Zeta-Jones (last seen in "Chicago"), Treat Williams (last seen in "The Devil's Own"), James Remar (last seen in "The Cotton Club"), with cameos from Patrick McGoohan (last seen in "A Time to Kill"), David Proval, and Casey Siemaszko.
RATING: 3 out of 10 jungle drums
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