Opened: December 22, 2004

Directed by: Joel Schumacher

Starring: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver, Margaret Preece, Simon Callow, Ciarán Hinds, Victor McGuire, Jennifer Ellison, Murray Melvin, Kevin McNally, James Fleet & Ramin Karimloo

A film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, The Phantom of the Opera has its flaws, but it doesn’t fail to capture and dazzle its audience.

The Phantom (Gerard Butler) is pleased when his protégé Christine Daaé (Emmy Rossum) is promoted from chorus girl to star. Though the Phantom is in love with her and Christine is under his spell, she still falls for childhood sweetheart and theatre patron Raoul (Patrick Wilson).

Rossum and Wilson give extraordinary performances. They’re both well-acted with voices that soar. While Butler is okay at times, his voice and emotions don’t match up to Phantoms of the stage.

Due to filming and keeping the audience’s attention, several songs that are strong onstage due to their style, passion and intensity lose that here to editing in many cuts.

Final say: Good movie, but much better onstage. ★★★☆☆