I was forewarned to go in with low expectation, and I was ready to mock, at least in the privacy of my mind. The movie was enjoyable overall, but it really was very cheesy at some points. The opening scenes - in the now, and in the past - are good, a spectacle of colour and bustle of the stage and off. But in the middle stretch, there's a great deal of exposition by song which really drags, since anyone going to see the movie would most likely be familiar with the musical.
And what of the songs of the musical? There are very few songs anyway, and some hooks do triple-quadruple-quintuple duty as they accomodate different lyrics for many scenes. While I understand the idea of thematic music, it can grate after a while, and eventually I just get the feeling that the composer has just been plain lazy. Some of it works, however - I particularly liked the use of the last line of All I Ask of You as part of the romantic triangle of Christine, Raoul and the Phantom. Singing-wise, the cast is good, no complaints there. Where the music is let down is by the disturbing retention of the 80s-like synthesizer and electric guitar accompaniment in the actual Phantom of the Opera theme. It sounds ridiculous and out of place, especially as the orchestra for most of the other songs sound fine and provides as much oomph and grandeur as needed.
It is quite hard to tell if Emmy Rossum is a very wooden actor with one expression, or does a good job of portraying Christine as a rather simple girl. She never closes her mouth properly either, and doesn't look like she's singing in earlier scenes, but she improves by the end. Raoul's accent swings from the British-norm of musicals to his natural American at odd moments, but it's not too jarring. Gerard Butler is decent as the Phantom, but I think he does end up acting better than he sings. The final scenes of confrontation between the three of them in the basement was quite gripping for me - the force of the emotions between them made me care, even though it was rather cheesy at the same time. The rest of the cast is pretty good - Miranda Richardson is caring and strict and frightened in turn as Madame Giry, Minnie Driver does an over-the-top (and thus, in character) portrayal of Carlotta, and the managers are funny enough (particuarly Simon Callow), if not great singers.
The costumes and set design are amazing. Sure, some of Christine's clothes are suspect (her white lacy nightie/dress that she first meets the Phantom in has dips and splits in very specifically designed places), every girl has bosoms out to *here* because of corsets, and I'm amazed no one died of consumption or pneumonia considering their propensity for going out in the snow in nothing but an open shirt or a shift. But in detail and beauty, it's an intricately designed and coloured movie, splashy and eye-catching.
I enjoyed it, though it is not something you need to see a second time. The second half is better than the first, with more action and and sustained interest, mostly by taking away some of the mystery of the Phantom through the revelation of his backstory, adapted from the book rather than the stage production.
