Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera

  • Review Date: May 1, 2005
  • PG-13
  • Genre: Musical
  • 2004
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Slightly stiff but sumptuous and faithful production.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie includes peril and violence, with some graphic images. There are mild and non-explicit sexual situations with predatory implications.


What's the story?

In this musical based on Gaston Leroux's story, a brilliant masked madman (Gerard Butler) who lives under the opera house falls in love with the exquisite young soprano Christine, (Emmy Rossum). She believes he is the angel of music, sent to teach her by her dead father. But he's no angel and will do anything to make Christine a star and possess her. At first, Christine is mesmerized by the Phantom. He brings her his cavernous home deep below the stage and sings to her, inspiring her to sing with passion. And just as the theater owner sells the place to two scrap metal dealers, the phantom arranges to have Christine get the starring role in the opera's newest production. The new team has a new patron -- a handsome young nobleman named Raoul (Patrick Wilson) who was once Christine's childhood sweetheart. He and Christine fall in love but the Phantom will not allow Christine to be with anyone else, even if it means destroying everything he cares about.


Is it any good?

 

Despite lavish settings and costumes, and sweeping camera movement, the sumptuously produced PHANTOM OF THE OPERA feels static, stuffy, and stagey. Much of it takes place on a stage and there's very little action -- people stand still and sing rather than move, or, well, act.

Overheated emotions set to Andrew Lloyd Weber's purplish music are so inherently "theatrical" that the film cannot be as effective as the stage play, and the performances are more about the music than the story. Christine, Raoul, and the Phantom sing in the theater, they sing in the caverns, they sing in a graveyard, and they sing at a masked ball. But the bland Gerard Butler as the Phantom never conveys the menace or the allure of the brilliant madman who hears the music of the night.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about what the Phantom loved about Christine. Can you love people without really seeing who they are? Families could also talk about the way the two key songs in the movie are used to illuminate different relationships and different emotions.


This review was written by Nell Minow
Teen, 15 years old
June 19, 2011
 
this should be on every ones bucket list
first for the traind eye this movie is actuly really funny but is the best one so far(not as good as the book... but still I cant live w/ out it i have 2 coppies) you MUST watch it w/ or w/out or kids Grate way to show class to our dull and sad lifeless object we call our scosity(nothing beats the real opera though :D )

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
January 9, 2011
 
THE BEST MOVIE EVER!
THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER! I'm am literatly OBESSED with Phantom of the Opera ( I have the movie, soundtrack, tv series on dvd, shirts, dolls,calenders, snow globes, the list goes on!) ! As much as I love Phantom, it has some acward scenes and a few suspenceful ones. Over all, IT'S THE BEST MOVIE EVER!

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 10 year old
April 25, 2011
 
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA IS THERE INSIDE MY MIND! :P
the phantom of the opera is one of the greatest stage shows of all time lasting 24 years in the theatre it is truley andrew loyed webbers phenominon and a favorite of mine so when they made a movie i had high expectations ( as andrew loyed webber was on the set) and all i can say is they reached those expectations :)

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
October 26, 2010
 
Gorgiously done, thank you Andrew Lloyd Webber!
All I can say is.. WOW. This is very, very good, even funny on some parts! I was personally rooting for Eric (the Phantom) but.. oh well. Okay, lets start off. As far as behavior: Christine is pretty.. hipnotic when the phantom sings to her, but she is generally kind and respectful. The Phantom.. well, he can't help it, he wasn't treated faitly, he's obsessive towrd Christine, willing to kill. But like I said he has a back story and you can't help but love him! Violence: actually its not that bad, yes, he kills, but not really gory, there's sword fights (only resulting with a cut at the arm) a hanging death (brief but obvious) some people are killed but not shown on screen, someone is crushed by the chandaler, and the phantom has a thing with like either gagging or hanging his victoms. But you cannot simply dismiss this movie because of something like that, its gorgiously done! Sex: The phantom is pretty lusting, but not to the disrespectful point, two main kissing scenes, neither overdone or very long. Once there was a mooning, disturbing but funny. Drugs/Alcahol: A few drinks, but I hardly noticed it. Not a big deal. Language: "D*mn" and "hell" but not as cursing persay. This was one of the best movies I've ever seen, don't dismiss it! Me and my mother watched it and loved it, and so did my chorus class!

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent
June 30, 2011
 
Very good movie. In fact, a great movie.
It isnt a very violent film. We see a man get hanged. Thats about the worst of it. A man gets a bloody arm as the result of a swordfight. D**n is used frequently. A man calls a woman a "delilah" and a "demon". Women dance in suggestive outfits. A woman sings that a girl has slept with a man. A man runs his arms suggestively over a woman, she is wearing a shoulderless dress that at times appears it might slip off. A man and a woman kiss several times, nothing too passionate. Naked statues. Tons and tons of naked statues. Seen throughout the movie.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
June 25, 2011
 
Phantom
I'm going to start off by saying, I'm a HUGE musical fan so I might be a little more biased. But this movie is fantastic. Role models- I would have to say Madame Girie and Christine are role models in this movie. Madame Girie saved the Eric (phantom) when he was very young from the gypsies/freak-circus. Although, she had many opportunities to stop him from killing people. Christine is a role model because she did not care about Eric's looks. Violence- The Phantom hangs a man during an opera, there is a sword fight in the grave yard (not too violent), near drowned, and chandelier crashed. Sexuality- not bad at all. Even though the Phantom is obsessed with her, he could have taken advantage of her but he didn't. Such a great movie!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
May 29, 2011
 
The first PG-13 movie I ever saw (when I was seven). Pretty good, though not precise as compared to the musical, which I saw four years later.
My rating: PG-13 for some violence, frightening images and some sensuality.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
May 20, 2011
 
I <3 this movie!
I love this Movie! if you havent seen this, then you need to! The phantom is played by gerard butler! There is some violence in a few scenes like at the cemetary. The main character, Cristine plays a young woman who is student of the ballet school at the opera(they perform in every opera). Her father was a famous musician but died when she was at the age of seven, so therfore she went to the opera. Her father said to her that the angel of music would guide her. for years Cristine would only hear a voice and she thought it was her father. However, soon after she leads in a opera she realizes that its really a man who is known as the phantom. Madam Giri(heado f the ballet school) saved him when he was a boy where he was in the gympsees where people make fun of "different" people. His mother had abondoned him or sold him to these people and once Madam Giri rescued him he's lived in the underground tunnels of the operahouse his whole life. He ofter kills people when he doesnt get what he disires. The phantom had fallen inlove with Cristine but however Cristine is in love with someone else. At the end the phantom is about to kill Rowu(i spellt that wrong) but Cristine is able to put love in his heart with a passionate kiss to show that he's not alone. This is a really good movie!

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
January 1, 2011
 
Cool Movie
I love it I watched at school when I was 9 and I have loved it since.Watch it if you are a musican I love it.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
June 13, 2011
 
Good movie (:
This movie is okay. It was scary at some parts, but overall, this movie was good.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Nell Minow
Studio:Warner Bros.
Director:Joel Schumacher
Cast:Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Minnie Driver
Genre:Musical
Run time:143 minutes
Theatrical release date:December 22, 2004
DVD release date:May 3, 2005
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:brief violent images

This review was written by Nell Minow
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you see Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera?


Already seen it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it