Not even twenty minutes into the two-hour opening, you can tell. The plot is filled with every trite cliché in the book. The music is near-constant, often at unnecessary volume, always underlining and highlighting what is already perfectly obvious. That goes for everything - the acting, the lighting, the camera angles, the villains, the plot points (such as they are), the characterizations - all painfully overdone. I don't even usually notice lighting or directing choices, but this isn't just unsubtle - it's obtrusive.
Except for the romance angle. That's added in on a perfunctory level. So much so that it seems creepy how quickly the pair falls into undying, almost stalkerish love.
As shown in the trailer, the new Phantom dismisses the traditional costume. Which turns out to be symbolic of the entire show's attitude towards the character. (And even that observation is more subtle than anything in the show.) The word "Phantom" isn't even spoken until the second hour. The Skull Cave (also as seen in the trailer) is now an entire complex with a huge staff, the base of operations of an international organization.
Oh, and Bengala is now an island somewhere in Indonesia, populated by surprisingly light-skinned people.
The change in costume is supposedly because the series is going for realism. A "realism" which includes windows made of sugar glass, people who take grievous wounds in utter silence, and over-the-top super tech.
I was excited about the return of the Phantom. He's a character with so much potential. But this... is unrecognizable and unwatchable. Whether you love the Phantom or have never heard of him... steer clear.
Except for the romance angle. That's added in on a perfunctory level. So much so that it seems creepy how quickly the pair falls into undying, almost stalkerish love.
As shown in the trailer, the new Phantom dismisses the traditional costume. Which turns out to be symbolic of the entire show's attitude towards the character. (And even that observation is more subtle than anything in the show.) The word "Phantom" isn't even spoken until the second hour. The Skull Cave (also as seen in the trailer) is now an entire complex with a huge staff, the base of operations of an international organization.
Oh, and Bengala is now an island somewhere in Indonesia, populated by surprisingly light-skinned people.
The change in costume is supposedly because the series is going for realism. A "realism" which includes windows made of sugar glass, people who take grievous wounds in utter silence, and over-the-top super tech.
I was excited about the return of the Phantom. He's a character with so much potential. But this... is unrecognizable and unwatchable. Whether you love the Phantom or have never heard of him... steer clear.