Call me a basic Broadway bitch, but The Phantom of the Opera is one of the very few shows that has ever even remotely interested me. I guess I just like the lavish aesthetics of it: the opulent opera setting, the eerie and foreboding tone, the wintery atmosphere, the histrionic emotions, etc. So I've actually always been a little curious as to how I'd respond to this adaptation.
As expected, the results were kinda mixed. Those stylish elements are all present (perhaps overly so, though I suppose most people watch something like this for its over-the-top presentation), but the kitschiness of it all sometimes detracted from the gentler aspects, like the romance and the tragedy. And it causes the central story to feel even more leaden and airless than it already was.
Still, cluttered as they might be, the visuals are quite strong. And while the narrative might not've been especially interesting, Joel Schumacher's dedication to camp and melodrama certainly helped to keep things lively.
Grade: B
P.S. Yes, Gerard Butler's incredibly miscast as The Phantom, and Emmy Rossum blows him out of the water at every turn, but he was also nowhere near as grating as I was expecting. Small victories.