The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

It has been 81 years since the original silent version of The Phantom of the Opera appeared. What we have now is the loud version, critics suggest. Relentless bombast afflicts this movie like a bad case of swollen lymph nodes, writes A.O. Scott in the New York Times. Wesley Morris in the Boston Globe observes that although the songs are credited to Andrew Lloyd Webber, come crashing through the speakers with such punishing force that it wouldn't be wrong to think Jerry Bruckheimer might have written them. Bob Strauss in the Los Angeles Daily News remarks that it is all crescendo for two relentless hours. Several critics, however, figure that the loudness may be necessary to keep audiences awake. Lou Lumenick in the New York Post observes that the famous falling chandelier has been moved from the end of the first act to the climax of the movie -- by which point non-devotees may need to be roused from their sleep by their companions. Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times calls it a slow-moving orgy of lowbrow grandiosity that's as tedious as it is overblown and pretentious. Yet several critics suggest that the original stage musical survived many of the critical barbs that are currently being directed at the movie. Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for example, notes that Fans will swoon and weep; nonfans, should they accidentally find themselves in the same room with it, will snicker and snooze. And many critics agree that the movie looks a whole lot better than the music in it sounds. The look is dazzling, writes Claudia Puig in USA Today. Even the clutter is beautiful, adds Philip Wuntch in the Dallas Morning News. Indeed, Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times appears willing to give the movie a thumbs-up on looks alone. He concludes: This has been, I realize, a nutty review. I am recommending a movie that I do not seem to like very much. But part of the pleasure of moviegoing is pure spectacle -- of just sitting there and looking at great stuff and knowing it looks terrific.