hyped garbage

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The acting in this movie is really good.

If ever a costumed superhero fared worse than The Phantom, s/he slipped right past me. The serial was bad enough (though Tom Tyler, who'd done such a remarkable job in THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, looked good in "the very first costumed superhero" costume): with the aid of his four-legged sidekick, Devil (a wolf, here played by a dog), he lords it over a tribe of (apparently) lost White Men (some of whom sport some ridiculous greasepaint). The serial featured some solid stuntwork, but was, overall, a bit of a disappointment. The feature version, with Billy Zane, was better, but, it, too, suffered from inconsistency (as when our hero, on horseback in pursuit of a truckload of fleeing ne'er-do-wells, simply jumps up on the horse's back and springs through the air... to land atop the speeding vehicle). But the worst of the lot- by far- has to be this anime wannabe. So simple-minded in conception and execution is it that even fast-forwarding through it becomes tedious. Just one more letdown in an ongoing series of same.

Given that "Phantom" creator Lee Falk was never that wild about this show, "Phantom 2040" adhered as close to Falk's formula (hero mantle is passed down from father to son for over 500 years) as possible. Also, the futuristic updating helped garner viewers who were oblivious to the fact that The Phantom is widely viewed in the U.S. as an archaic hero, at least to those only peripherally familiar with the character.Sci-Fi writers Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens managed to update the legend of The Phantom, throwing in a rather interesting twist; the mantle of "The Ghost Who Walks" was not able to be passed on from the 23rd Phantom to his heir, as he was presumably killed in an accident 16 years prior, making Kit Walker, Jnr. only 2 years old at the time, therefore completely unaware of his father's activities.18 year-old Kit Walker, Jnr. has been sheltered by his Aunt Heloise (the 23rd Phantom's sister) from the Walker Family Legacy in hopes that the first Walker male in almost 500 years will have the chance at a normal life. When the 23rd Phantom's former comrade-in-arms, Guran, appears from Africa to ensure that Kit knows his family's history, the sparks begin to fly.The young Kit at first dismisses his responsibility, then acquiesces when he realises the import of The Phantom's work at stamping out piracy, greed, & cruelty, this time in the form of the E-Ville corporation, Maximum, Inc.The story lines were, for the most part, serialised, an oddity for an animated series, but "Phantom 2040" is much more than an average animated series. This could easily have been a live-action series & it's encouraging to see writers take creative risks like they did here. The series never talks down to its audience, & the writers hired for this project serve to prove that: Marc Scott Zicree & veteran Sci-Fi author Harlan Ellsion top the list of this well-written show.While this series only lasted 2 seasons, it did have a beginning, middle, & ending, although I suspect the Reeves-Stevenses were hoping to go into a 3rd season, which would've been welcomed with open arms if the writing had stayed as consistent & interesting as it did throughout its 2-year run.While other series received more acclaim than "Phantom 2040" (the most blatant ripoff being WB's "Batman Beyond"), few were as stylish, ("Aeon Flux" creator Peter Chung did the character design) & even fewer were as tightly plotted. Even though this series never got the accolades it deserves / deserved, at least it got made, it was well-made, & proves that the audience can watch a serious Sc-Fi animated series without being pandered to.

Well, it's either this or Gundam Wing, and what they both share is a darker tone than most cartoons. I kinda fell on this when I was channel flicking but I got hooked. The art is very stylised but I like it and well the Phantom rocks. But what really got me was the bad guys, who well Rebecca Madison may have been evil, but her son and Graft weren't, and when your about 7-8 that really messes with your mind.So, even if you're an adult who thinks cartoons are for kids I can heartily recommend this.

Phantom 2040 is probably the best animated action-adventure series I've seen. It doesn't cater to a low-intelligence audience: you've really got to watch this, and watch it carefully, to follow everything that's going on. Lots of intricate inter-plotting of episodes and characters, somewhat sympathetic bad guys (Ron Perlman's Graf in particular, one of the "grayest" villains ever), funky artwork, and a well-developed future society (compare it to, say, "The Magician" (1998)). Hopefully someone will carry this in repeats at some point (Sci-Fi Channel, maybe), because it's a show that should have stayed on forever.