Paramount PicturesGiven how massive and unwieldy Marvel and DC’s interconnected movies and TV franchises have become, trying to enter these series can feel like stepping into an overwhelming universe. With a collective runtime of over 550 hours, watching the MCU is now an extraordinary commitment. Not only do the films alone require a significant time investment, they also require an intimate knowledge of the franchise’s overarching storyline and expansive cast of heroes, villains, secret agents, intergalactic warlords, and everyone in between.While the colossal MCU and ambitious new DCU form the basis for the superhero narrative today, it’s interesting to look back at a time when superhero films were still a fledgling genre struggling to secure their place in mainstream entertainment. With Christopher Reeve's Superman leading the way, superhero movies throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s tried to bring the colorful worlds of their comic-strip counterparts to the big screen, with varying degrees of success. For every Tim Burton-backed Batman, another faithful comic book adaptation flew under the radar. And of all these largely forgotten films, it’s The Phantom, released 30 years ago today, that most embraced the pure pulpiness of comic books.Starring Billy Zane just one year before his career-defining role in Titanic, The Phantom adapts the world of Lee Falk’s 1930s comic strip in all its eye-catching glory. Kit Walker (Zane) is a globe-trotting masked superhero who takes over the mantle of The Phantom, a legendary moniker passed down through his family for generations. Tracking the Skulls of Touganda — mythic artifacts said to grant unlimited power to whoever acquires them — The Phantom and his fearless love interest (Kristy Swanson) race around the world to prevent a Skull from falling into the wrong hands, and run afoul of the scheming businessman Xander Drax (Treat Williams) in the process.If you’re looking for a realistic rendition of a beloved superhero, The Phantom is not your film. Made before the genre turned towards a relatively grounded approach with the 2000s’ X-Men, Spider-Man, and Batman Begins, The Phantom instead draws on the same zany comic book energy as its source material, never sparing a moment for plausible story elements or rounded, three-dimensional characters.Far from being a bad thing, however, The Phantom’s limitations and obvious narrative weaknesses are all part of its charm. Rather than distancing itself from the pulp-adventure aesthetic of its comic book counterpart, The Phantom wholeheartedly embraces the over-the-top features that characterized 1930s comic strips, from the chisel-jawed hero to the tomb raiders, air pirates, and cartoonish fistfights that occupy the movie.It’s hard to imagine The Phantom’s wild style in a modern superhero movie. | Paramount PicturesWhat follows has the same lightweight energy as Zorro, Indiana Jones, and Buckaroo Banzai, all wrapped around a glistening color palette ripped straight from Detective Comics #27. At the time, most critics were less than impressed with the final results, finding The Phantom too bland, uninspired, and predictable to warrant serious consideration. Over the years, however, a growing number of viewers have praised the movie for its pulpy atmosphere and ample homages to the original comics, with its main story taken from Falk’s first two Phantom strips.Looking back at it today, it’s easy to dismiss The Phantom as another cheesy superhero movie Hollywood experimented with before the MCU seized control of the genre. The film might pale in comparison to The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, possessing neither the humor, scope, nor mainstream appeal of today’s Marvel movies. But what makes The Phantom so worthy of audiences’ attention is that it’s not like the superhero movies we’ve been spoon-fed since 2008’s Iron Man. Instead of delivering a sleek and modern portrayal of its lead character, The Phantom meticulously recreates the comic-book-inspired world of the 1930s, right down to the flat dialogue, exotic locales, and unforgettable costumes of Falk’s work. Just like there’s an undeniable charm in revisiting old episodes of Adam West’s Batman, there’s something pleasurable about letting realism slip out of touch when you sit down to watch The Phantom, which returns you to a time when the superhero genre wasn’t watered down by sequels, prequels, crossovers, and spinoffs.Is The Phantom dated? Certainly. Is it hokey and childish when held up to Marvel and DC’s more recent movies? Absolutely. But The Phantom does what all great comic book movies set out to do: for an hour and 40 minutes, you enter pastel-colored settings beyond your wildest imagination, a world that’s lighthearted, fun, and thankfully doesn’t require seeing a dozen other movies to fully understand or appreciate.The Phantom is available on Prime Video.