Review of The Phantom of the Opera (2004) by Johnny T — 21 Aug 2012

I was one of the few that actually enjoyed the film. This was the one time that Joel Schumacher's over the top-ness worked to his advantage. A musical of this greatness deserves this type of glamorous design.

But there was one problem-the cast. Not all of them...in fact not even a few of them, just one: Mr. Butler. His singing poorly hides his thick accent. The next issue I'm going to raise is kind of debunking my previous statement about the decency of the design.

Mr. Schumacher sh*t all over the Phantom's appearance. The disfigurement is inconsistent. When you first see it, it is a grotesque display (still not as much as the theatrical version), after the initial revelation, his grotesqueness is reduced to thin blonde hair and an elongated nostril.

There was so much that could be done with the makeup, and it was so minimalized that is was just...just..so disappointing for the real "Phans." The other issue is the mask err...masks. The mask was not original design, therefore, the mystery of the majority of his face being covered was lost.

Not to mention the other two, the skeleton domino mask, and the black domino mask. The black one doesn't even cover his forehead, yet, when he is unmasked, his forehead is disfigured (initially). He shouldn't have worn the various masks, because as they progress, they become smaller and smaller, and, once again,continue to take away the mystery, which worked because there really wasn't much to cover aside from the nostril.

It can be surprising how such a thing like the phantom's appearance can hurt a movie like it did. And by the way, the extra music that was added into the movie and is being criticized, that was composed by Lloyd Webber, it was a rough draft from "Love Never Dies" the sequel to "Phantom.

" And, *spoiler alert,* Love Never Dies SUCKS!