It's got its place in movie history and I can respect the great acting and incredible voice performances. And that synth... 7/10 will get songs stuck in head still

The movie is entertaining. I think it is well put together and the cast does well. Musically, it leaves something to be desired, but to just sit back and watch, you won't be disappointed.

Imagine a cake. The cake was made with the richest, rarest ingredients, including seventeen different types of biscuit, brandy-soaked cherries, shards of sugared ginger and nuggets of Belgian chocolate. Afterwards it was covered in icing and piping, sprinkled with edible gold leaf and decorated from top to bottom with pink roses made out of sugar and smiling cherubs made out of marzipan. On top of the cake there's a neoclassical "Temple of Love" made from spun sugar. Now translate the image to the world of movie-making. If you're thinking : "That sounds nice, I'd like a slice", then this is the movie for you.Other viewers, more mindful of the risks to human sanity, might want to make a detour. The movie contains moments of real charm and beauty, but these moments get lost in the mix. There is too much of everything - too much melodrama, too much spectacle, too much gilding, too much heaving bosoms and fainting maidens. There is even too much singing.The movie is further torpedoed by the inexplicable decision to include a Phantom who looks handsome, normal and yes, sexy. This is the equivalent of staging a "Richard III" with a male model protagonist who suffers from the very slightest of limps, as if recovering from a light strain. The Phantom is supposed to be so hideously disfigured that strong men run away in terror ; this Phantom could find work as a gardener, a dentist, a priest, a kindergarten teacher or a federal prosecutor. It's completely unclear why such a man should want to shun human society or lock himself up in a secret lair.Talking about lairs, this is one very luxurious lair, provided with all modern conveniences and embellished with flourishes such as waterproof and inexhaustible candelabras. It would take the fortune of a particularly rapacious third world dictator to erect such a place - but then, the movie does not particularly care for plausibility.A handsome and passionate young man living in an exclusive pad near the Opera - Christ, he sounds quite the catch...

Loved this adaption. I only watched this movie now in 2016 and was surprised with all the bad reviews Butler had at first when this movie came out. I thought he was Very captivating as the Phantom and it's hard not to fall in love with him. His body language and the way he sang with emotions added a lot of depth to the character, we can actually feel what torture he was going through. His eye contact behind the mask, scary and seductive in one. Emma is top as a very sweet Christine with a gorgeous angelic voice. A great render of the theatrical musical, I enjoyed every bit, the costumes, the music, the acting and the settings. By now, they are probably thinking of doing a new remake but for now Butler takes my award of best Phantom!