The Phantom of the Opera

There are a few good things I can say about this movie: 

                   It is much more enjoyable than the 1991-ish stage version I saw in Los Angeles.  And even on its own terms, there are some fun and delightful moments.  At the beginning of the film, I was quite surprised that it looked like I might actually enjoy it.  The cast and crew were trying so hard to make a good film.  But, alas, the film was held hostage by Andrew Lloyd Webber's abysmal music, from which it had no escape.  You could argue that all bad films are held hostage by a bad script, for very, very rare is a good film made from a bad screenplay.  I counter-argue that those films may be doomed, but they aren't held hostage, because a bad screenplay can contain the seed of a good idea and be re-written into a good one (even though this practice is rarely employed;  in Hollywood, it's usually rewritten from bad to mediocre or from good to mediocre).  However, not a note here could be changed without the consecrated approval of Lord Lloyd Webber, and the only musical difference he was interested in was the additional of a song written for the film to qualify for an Academy Award.  Thus, although the filmmakers utilized the amount of wiggle room they had to an admirable degree, it ultimately remained in bondage.

                   It definitely created its own world, and I sat through it as long as I could (an hour and a half), curious to see that famous chandelier crashing down on the opera patrons.  But it soon became all too unbearable and I was getting that feeling where you know you're going to have a bad taste in your mouth for a long time if you don't get out now!!!

                   If you are a fan of this music, then by all means, you MUST see it.  You will enjoy it immensely.  To my taste, it ranks among the worst music for a musical ever written.