Peter Swanson I'd never seen this movie until a couple of months ago, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I've since seen it twice more, and still enjoy it! What some reviewers don't seem to grasp is that it is supposed to be fun, not serious. It's not competition for Indiana Jones, it's simply the story of the Phantom. If the over-the-top performance of Treat Williams was not enough to tell viewers that it is just entertainment, the performance of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa should have let them know that this is not Hamlet. Watch and enjoy.

Maz-hell This is one of those movies that you have no idea how to react at it. It takes itself seriously, but it became so campy and over the top that it ends being extremely funny.The phantom is the XXI generation of guys that have liven in the middle of nowhere, defending the jungle from... pirates that killed everyone the first ever phantom loved... from the middle of the jungle. It is never really explained what is in his territory (he has a territory, but he saves everyone... for some reason) or something about the pirates but whatever.He disguises himself in a freaking purple suit in the middle of the jungle!Whatever, lets continue.He must stop the newer... newish... kinda pirates, who kidnap a girl that knows too much, that by pure coincidence is known by the phantom... from the middle of the jungle... because he studied in the United Stated for some reason... even though he does not know what a dollar is... whatever.You know what? it is campy and terribly retarded, but it is very funny if you turn your brain down. And I mean down. It is based in a campy old comic, what could I have expected of it? It is extremely moronic. Don't think too much and you will find it good for passing the minutes being lazy. Do not expect a brain challenge or logic.

Paul Magne Haakonsen While "The Phantom" is not the brightest moment in cinema history, it is still better than the 2009 attempt to reinvent the character and bring it up-to-date. The whole concept of the phantom is campy and worked well enough in comic book format but didn't translate all that well in transition to the screen.For a 1996 action hero movie, then "The Phantom" is entertaining for what it is, a campy attempt at bringing an equally campy comic book hero to life on the screen. Now, I have never been much fan of Billy Zane, but he actually did a good job in this movie. The cast list is adequate, taking into consideration the premises of the movie.The story is about a jungle legend of the ghost that walks; a lineage of a vigilante family who fights evil in all its forms. And with Xander Drax planning on hoarding the power of ancient Bengalian artifacts, the phantom must rise yet again.Don't expect any award winning material from "The Phantom". You know what you will get here with this type of movie when you sit down to watch it, it is straight to the point.

Darrell Till At the time of its release The Phantom had a lot going against it. The recent renewed interest in superhero movies had not yet begun. The only such movies that had enjoyed any success by 1996 were the original Superman and the Tim Burton Batman series. Fact is, unless you were a complete comics nerd nobody had really heard of any other characters. Add to that the fact that the Phantom was not particularly well known outside of the USA where it did not begin life as either a Marvel OR a DC comic and you realise how brave it was to make this movie without any A-list actors in it either. Fact is, I enjoyed this at the time of its release because it successfully achieved the feat of telling a classic comic yarn without requiring any particular special effects. It is completely story driven. The script isn't a work of genius but there is a lot to enjoy. It doesn't spoon-feed you the story or bore you with an 'origin' story - a quick 2 minute recap is given and then its on with the story. This won't please everybody - but if you can get around the faults with mid-nineties film-making in general, and that comics place other values way above realism, then you might enjoy this even now. I recently re-watched this after it appeared on Netflix and I stand by my original opinions after nearly 20 years!