Review of The Phantom of the Opera (2004) by Big L — 17 Jul 2016

Featuring a musically inexperienced and somewhat unrecognizable cast; at first I assumed the worst for this version of The Phantom of the Opera though I was pleasantly surprised. The critic reviews have been overwhelmingly negative many noting how Butler has little experience singing and suggesting that his performance left a lot to be desired, i, in fact, would argue that a combination of the pitch correction and the raw emotion that Butler portrays while singing make for a thoroughly enjoyable experience which challenges many other incarnations of the Phantoms character.

Whilst many Critics have suggested that the film is lackluster when compared to the on-stage musical performance, I believe that this comparison is inherently flawed as comparing two different mediums isn't necessarily fair as both will have certain advantages and disadvantages in the fields of portraying themes and utilization of dramatic techniques. From this point I would challenge you to find a superior film adaptation of Webbers' musical.

Notably well-choreographed scenes such as the masquerade scene create a genuine atmosphere as if the silver screen was a stage in front of you. Despite this, many scenes can come of over-done and somewhat comical, for example the Phantom descending the stairs in-step with the background music during the "Why so silent" sequence and even the grand face-reveal which is supposed to be one of the, if not THE key scene in the musical. This comical appearance really was the key theme which ruined the viewing for me which is a shame as I enjoyed much of the film which man other reviewers did not.

When I take all these factors into account I would give the movie an overall rating of 4/10, which would constitute a negative rating, though it is worth mentioning that overall I did enjoy the film and would recommend watching it and forming your own opinions based on the different features and drawbacks of the movie.