"The Phantom of the Opera" (2004)

The Phantom of the Opera

Grade: B-

If you enjoy Andrew Lloyd Weber’s ubiquitous Broadway musical, The Phantom of the Opera, then you’ll probably enjoy this film adaptation, which is just as bombastic and gaudy and showstopping as the expensive source material. Director Joel Schumacher helms a spectacular production sure to somewhat replicate the grandeur of the stage, with elaborate sets and eye-catching costumes and a sexy cast of competent actor-singers ranging from decent to good, particularly 18-year-old newcomer Emily Rossum.

I, however, am lukewarm on Weber’s musical, and so no matter how sumptuous Schumacher’s stylistic flourishes, no matter how chiseled Gerard Butler’s Phantom (whose unmasked face doesn’t even look that bad — seriously: it looks more like a minor allergic reaction than a horrific disfigurement), the story is handled too…er…boringly to justify its bloated 140-minute runtime. Weber’s melodies are memorable and exuberant (and cribbed directly from Pink Floyd and Giacomo Puccini), but the extensive repetition grows tiresome. Maybe that’s why they’re so memorable? It feels like the same three motifs are echoed over and over again, washing out all build-up of drama, romance and character development. There’s a great story buried within Phantom, but you’ll have to go back nearly 100 years to find it.

“The Phantom of the Opera” (2004)