Review of Love Never Dies

I actually really enjoyed this movie. Granted, I don't think that it's quite as good as the original but for what it is, it wasn't that bad. Since a lot of people hate this movie, I'm going to start by mentioning some points on the opposing side which I agree with.I understand the disdain for this sequel and sequels in general because it's rare to find a sequel as good as the original work. I myself have encountered several sequels that were less than faithful to the original works(Holly Hobbie and Friends: Marvelous Makeover!) I will also admit that a sequel to Phantom of the Opera is never something that I really deemed necessary but not everything that's unnecessary is automatically bad. Although I can tolerate and even understand what happened to Raoul, I think it was a bit excessive and unnecessary. It's obvious that the intent was to get the audience to root for Christine to choose Erik in the end. Although I felt that he deserved better than what he received in the end, I don't agree with him and Christine being romantically involved. There are two main reasons why I have such an opinion: 1. Erik and Christine are very far apart in age which makes things a bit awkward. 2. He's still very mentally unstable and emotional problems can lead to unhealthy relationships. It's hard to care about others when one person is still struggling with their own problems. I was also drawn to the idea of their relationship remaining more of a mentor/student relationship because the relationships between students and their teachers is something not often explored in entertainment. Many people (myself included) have known teachers who have had a great effect on them and have been positively shaped because of one special teacher. Although the music was by far my favorite aspect, some of the songs tended to drag on longer than I would have liked. The song "Beneath a Moonless Sky" was beautiful but also very awkward. I know that it was supposed to deliver a sense of awe and mystique but I'm the kind of person who would rather not hear about people's passionate exchanges. Although I liked Christine and admired some of her endearing qualities, she did slightly annoy me at times. An example of that is when she decided to leave her son, Gustav, with the same guy who had threatened to kill him. The final aspect that I didn't enjoy was the ending. The whole point of the movie was to give Erik a second chance and finally allow him to achieve some happiness. This is all blown out of proportion when Christine dies after being accidentally shot by Meg. It seems like nothing more than an intent to get an emotional reaction out of the audience. It certainly didn't help that the entire movie already had a bitter, angry, almost passive-aggressive feel to it. I know that the previous show wasn't exactly a fairy tale but at least the more lighthearted moments felt truly genuine and uplifting. In this show, even some of the more cheerful moments had an underlying vibe of bitterness and depression. Now that those points are out of the way I would like to offer a different view on some of the popular criticisms against this production. The first point that I would like to make is that although this movie wasn't necessary, it does deliver an interesting idea of following up with character that the audience knew from a previous story. Something similar to Fuller House or even Hook. The setting may seem unfitting or bizarre for a Phantom of the Opera sequel. However, I feel that the new setting offers the characters and the audience a differing view of disabilities and flaws. The Coney Island show seems to deliver the message that differences should be embraced and that there's beauty to be found in them. It also delivers an opportunity to display the colorful, creative visuals that come with the setting. I understand why people are upset about what happened to Raoul and Christine's relationship. However, keep in mind that they were both very young when they got married. It's likely that Raoul felt overwhelmed and lost when it came to handling the responsibilities of supporting a marriage and raising a family. As such, he might have tried to turn to other sources to try and escape his problems. Now that I've covered Raoul, I'd like to shift the focus to his wife (or ex-wife by the end) Christine. She is certainly naïve at times and doesn't always make the best decisions. However, I feel that this stems more from her desire to help those she cares about as opposed to being stupid or selfish. She knew that she had made a commitment to Raoul but she didn't want to crush Erik's delicate soul after all of the pain that he had been through. I've been mentioning Erik quite a bit but I haven't really gone into his character in depth. Many have said that he isn't as interesting or sympathetic in this movie because he is still distraught and enraged despite all of the positive attention that he is supposedly receiving. Keep in mind that he had experienced years of torture and harassment due to his facial deformity. As such, he developed problems with anxiety and depression. Praise and affection may bring some stability and happiness but they don't completely remove the problem. The attacks and threats made him feel vulnerable, threatened, and dehumanized. As such, he often feels the need to defend himself against anyone who he perceives as a threat to him or Christine. Because of his extreme internal conflict, he has to rely on the one person who he feels brings a sense of security to such an unkind world. He also feels the need to resort to threats and force so that he isn't perceived as weak or helpless and therefore won't have to endure anymore trauma.