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Additionally, the "Notes" scene was one of the show's funnier bits with characters musically interacting like an old-time comedy. Here it's stiff with almost no sense of fun as characters sing their lines without really interacting. "Prima Donna" comes off with similar coldness, as Raoul and ballet mistress Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson) are shown storming through different venues singing their lines to no one in particular. Purists might also take note that the Act II's "Notes" sequence has been largely cut, and several sung passages are now spoken in conversational rhyming, sounding more campy as a result.

Swashbuckling time!

Which suggests that Schumacher and Lloyd Webber don't believe the average filmgoer is quick enough to catch the story through sung lyrics as originally intended. How else to explain the badly written dialogue added for the movie? Towards the film's beginning, Christine points out Raoul to a friend: "You could say we were childhood sweethearts. He used to call me Little Lotte." The lovers' past relationship is alluded to in two other conversations before they meet and reveal the same details all over again. In the same way, we're endlessly reminded up front that Christine believes the Phantom to be the Angel of Music that her father promised to send from on high when he died. Does everything need to be spelled out so obviously?

There are still some delightfully crafted musical numbers in the film. Schumacher's campy tendencies work naturally in the comedic opera parody "Poor Fool He Makes Me Laugh," and scenes where the Phantom lurks about during performances are also effective in creating tension. "All I Ask of You," the film's romantic centerpiece, is nearly perfect in mood with the rooftop setting, falling snow, sweeping music, and loving gazes.

Additions to the movie include some silly action scenes intended to make Raoul seem more swashbuckling. Neither the hall of mirrors nor the water trap are the least bit suspenseful, and while a swordfight with the Phantom in the cemetery begins as a smart alternative to the fireballs from the stage, it ends too abruptly as if the filmmakers didn't know how to resolve it. There's also a badly overdone back-story involving the Phantom's childhood as a carnival sideshow attraction, designed to elicit sympathy.

As for the actors, the filmmakers deserve credit for selecting untested talent capable of filling some challenging roles. Emmy Rossum is especially impressive—absolutely stunning and beautiful, capturing the innocence and naïveté of Christine while convincingly running through an array of emotions. As a trained opera singer, she sings the part well (and it's hard to believe she was born the same year the musical originally debuted). Patrick Wilson is also in fine voice, having played Curly in Oklahoma! on Broadway. He does the best he can with a role that screams Dudley Do-Right. Driver has a lot of fun hamming it up as Carlotta, though it's a little much at times. She's the only actress who (understandably) doesn't sing her own part, though as a consolation, she has the honor of singing "Learn to Be Lonely" (the single new musical contribution) over the end-credits.

What of the Phantom? Butler's singing is adequate, though he's not what you'd hope from the leading man, occasionally scooping his notes. He's also miscast in that he's too young and handsome for the role, which keeps his love for Christine from ever feeling too creepy. Butler plays the part simply as a tortured soul, without any of the crazed madman heard on stage (i.e. no maniacal laughter). Michael Crawford, the original Phantom, could easily out-act Butler using only his voice.

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