Das Phantom (1996)

Das Phantom: Directed by Simon Wincer. With Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta-Jones. The Phantom, descendent of a line of African superheroes, travels to New York City to thwart a wealthy criminal genius from obtaining three magic skulls which would give him the secret to ultimate power.

“Of all the recent pulp hero adaptation to the big screen, this one ranks as the best so far. Doc Savage was too campy. The Shadow was disappointing, The Spirit was too small and the Rocketeer was an echo of the entire genre. But the Phantom, thanks to performances from Billy Zane, Treat Williams and Catherine-Zeta Jones, came alive on the screen. There was humor, drama, excitement, suspense and action galore. This film had all the elements of a successful pulp novel or newspaper serial. The cinematography, especially on the location shots, was breathtaking. Billy Zane is very believable as Kit Walker both in and out of costume. The faithfulness of the film to the original stories is also excellent.”