The Phantom: 20th Anniversary Review

‘When wealthy criminal genius Xander Drax endeavours to obtain the legendary Skulls of Touganda to exploit their mystical powers for personal gain and domination, mythical Bengallan Superhero – The Phantom travels to New York in an attempt to thwart his megalomaniacal plans.’

Cast: Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta-Jones, James Remar, Patrick Mcgoohan, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa. Director: Simon Wincer. Writer: Jeffrey Boam.

In 1996  Lee Falk’s ground-breaking, archetypal 1930’s Superhero – The Phantom made his movie debut, the ‘Ghost Who Walks’ had not been seen on the big screen since the 1943 Tom Tyler led serial series by Columbia Pictures, though there have been numerous animated incarnations over the years and a 2009 series that never made it past the second episode.

 

The Phantom was created by Lee Falk in 1936 for King Feature Syndicate, Falk cited some of the biggest influences for the character were King Arthur, Robin Hood and Tarzan. The Phantom is the original costume clad Superhero, pre-dating DC’s Superman by two years. To the uninitiated the Phantom is immortal and is believed to have been fighting crime for over four centuries, in reality the current Phantom is the 21st in line, with the son of each Phantom taking over the role when their father is either killed or too old to continue their heroic lifestyle, thus propelling the image of an immortal crime-fighter… a Ghost Who Walks.

“Hey, I can see my cave from here!”

The ’96 film adaptation of the classic 30’s Superhero starred Billy Zane, a devoted fan of the original character, whom he first discovered whilst filming the movie Dead Calm in Australia. The Phantom is extremely popular in Australia and New Zealand, eclipsing characters like Batman, with a huge variety of comics and related merchandise exclusively available in these countries alone. 

The filming took place over three separate locations, Brisbane in Australia, Greystone park in California and Krabi in Thailand, and it shows, the scenery from Thailand is especially stunning with some fantastic shots of jungles and mountains, the director of cinematography David Burr hit the ball out of the park on this one, the movie is beautifully filmed, with some absolutely breathtaking shots of Thailand during the closing credits.

Directed by Australian Simon Wincer, who previously directed Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, with the screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam who also coincidentally wrote the screenplay for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and this Indy heritage really shines through in the film itself with the opening scene of  henchman Quill (James Remar) leading a group of treasure hunters into the Bengallan jungle in search of an ancient and mystical skull of Touganda, which is extremely reminiscent of the opening prologue of Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

“So it was you who gave me 4.9 on IMDB!”

The film itself is set in the 1930’s and intentionally feels very much like a serial movie strip from that era, the thirties atmosphere is palpable and feels perfectly constructed for this particular Superhero, evoking a swashbuckling feel and the movie is ultimately an energetic and enjoyable romp, and faithful to its source material.

Billy Zane is perfectly cast as the titular hero of the piece, very much evoking the original character from the comics, which is helped in no small part by the amazing costume a fantastic and accurate recreation of the Phantom’s comic book form. Treat Williams is on top form as his antagonist, one Xander Drax, who you can tell is enjoying the hell out of the role throughout and almost steals the show with his stand-out and crazy performance.

With a fantastic supporting cast that includes: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kristy Swanson, James Remar, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa and the late Patrick McGoohan (the Prisoner himself), the film is a must watch to not just fans of the Phantom and comic book genre movies but also anyone who loves high adventure and movies that are just plain fun.

The plot itself revolves around the villainous Xander Drax, who has been searching for the three sacred skulls of Touganda, these mystical treasures have been lost over time and it is prophesied that if all three are brought together, the person wielding them will have infinite power and ultimately the world will fall unto darkness. As previously mentioned very Indiana Jones, except the script is actually a retelling of three classic Phantom tales – The Phantom’s Origin, The Sky Band and The Skulls of Touganda, written by Lee Falk in the thirties and forties.

“Alas poor Phantom, I knew him…”

An enjoyable and lively Superhero romp, beautifully shot, engaging and faithfully reverential to Lee Falk’s quintessential character. Zane is wonderful as the title character and Williams is craziness personified as the villain. The Phantom will make ‘Phans’ of you all… guaranteed.

Precinct1313 Rating: 4.5 skulls of Touganda out of 5.