Film Review: Reviewed By Alan Jones; 3 out of 5

This big-screen take on Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit stage musical is a case of too much operetta and not enough Phantom. Director Joel Schumacher's film is sumptuous to look at and lavishly produced, but occasionally suffers from being too faithful, and therefore too flat, an adaptation. An over-familiarity with the story (disfigured sewer dweller falls for ingénue diva), songs (the title number and The Music of the Night) and visual clichés (creepy catacombs, a falling chandelier) don't help. Nor do the colourless leads - Emmy Rossum as bland soprano Christine and Gerard Butler's conventional Phantom. Michael Crawford, the musical's original West End star, would have been far superior. At least Minnie Driver has a laugh as demanding Italian prima donna Carlotta. Yet, despite the lumbering dance routines and deference to the source text, the power and theatrical romance of the show often shine thrillingly through.

Plot Summary

Adapatation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash-hit stage musical, starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. A prodigiously talented but horribly disfigured composer living in the depths of the Paris Opera House becomes captivated by Christine, a young singer. But his affection turns to jealous rage when he discovers that Christine is in love with a handsome nobleman.