Having just seen the film. . . I'm stunned. I was absolutely floored by how amazingly awesome it really was. Hard to believe how critics are simply not seeing the beauty of this film. . . then again, it was also hard to believe how they saw anything in Matrix Reloaded while the general public was at least smart enough to realize what nonsense it was. But, that's beside the point. . .

Being a music major, so I believe I can speak for these things and to starter. . . there's no logic in everyone's hatred of Gerard Butler as the Phantom. Honestly. . . he's better than Michael Crawford, who's voice always struck me as too high. . . almost too "girly." There is emotional pain, heartache, rage, passion, and --above all-- humanity in Butler's voice that Crawford failed to grasp fully. The sensualness of Butler's voice lies in its devilish deceitfulness; it doesn't need to rest in the way it sounds, but works just fine the way it is. It's a solid, solid voice; no, it's not a perfectly-pitched voice, but I don't wanna' hear the Phantom singing like some kind of castrated, male opera star; he needs to have passion in his voice. . . conviction. I'd say he needs all the above qualities even more than he needs to sound sensual, which seems to be everyone's primary argument against him. . . too bad it's a terribly poor and ridiculous one. But, all in all, Butler's voice is stunning and I'm very glad he got to play the role. He did a phenomenal job!

Emmy Rossum's voice is gloriously beautiful and perfectly young. Sarah Brightman's original voice, while beautiful, is ultimately too old. Emmy's voice fixes this perfectly with its round clarity and poignant glory. Patrick Wilson's voice as Raoul is also quite convincing. . . it's soft-spoken, gentle, and warm. . . just as it should be. The sharp contrast to the Phantom's harshness and anguish.

So, once again, Clemmy has failed to see the beauty in a score once again and completely flabbergasted me by his opinions. I feel sorry for all those who fail to hear the beauty in the performances in this version and who fail to see the wonder that is the film. This Phantom of the Opera is the one I'll grow up on the rest of my life and will be the one people will remember (for good) for many years to come.

Just had to address the falsities of Clemmy's review and let everyone out there who has an open mind know that this is a superior recording to that of the original and I'm looking forward to watching the film for many decades to come.

Bring on the flames.

Sayonara!
Jockolantern