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I am a total phan - have been since about 14 when I saw the stage production for the first time. I fell in love instantly. I've seen it 4 times, read the original novel and another great POTO book called "Phantom" by Susan Kay many times, and get very excited over anything Phantom related. I was really apprehensive about the movie because I truly LOVE this story and I didn't want Hollyweird screwing it up.

Well, I wasn't disappointed. I've seen the movie 3 times now and am going again tomorrow ;-) I really do love it. The only major thing that could have been better was Gerard Butler's voice. I think he is great in the role and acts it well, but he just can't pull off all of the singing. This sucked for me, because I was already a major fan of his before POTO. I don't think it ruins the movie at all, you just can't compare him with Michael Crawford (of course, who can compare to him??)

Emmy Rossum does a great job, and I really enjoy her singing. She's not Sarah Brightman, but I think for the movie, her voice, which is less opera-y is better. I think Patrick Wilson is fine - he didn't make a strong impression on me one way or the other. I thought Minnie Driver was funny, though her performance bordered on over-the-top. The rest of the cast was good too.

The ending changes were really good, although I felt Butler's performance here (as far as the singing) was his weakest in the movie. I cry every time I listen to the end of my 2 CD set when Michael Crawford closes with "It's over now... the music of the night." Heart wrenching. I'm not quite feeling that with Butler. :(

I did have some minor nits about the movie: (*** MILD SPOILERS AHEAD ***):
1. They changed Erik's (the Phantom) background and personal history with the Opera house in the flashback scene with Madame Giry, which I thought was lame. They also de-mystified his magic and powers of illusion, ventriloquism, etc. There is no way he would have been so sloppy as to leave the mirror from Christine's dressing room open.
2. I didn't like the "dancers" in the Point of No Return scene AT ALL. I couldn't stop laughing every time they came up and that is supposed to be a serious and seductive scene - laughing is not good. ;-)
3. The horrid, awful, B-movie, ridiculous organ/keyboard (?) music they added to the graveyard scene, during the sword fight and then again when the opera house is on fire was just cheeeeesy and BAD. ICK!
4. Some of the lines that were sung in the stage production are spoken in the movie and at times seems awkward.
5. They changed some lines and lyrics for no apparent reason. I guess when you memorize the CD, you really notice these things.
6. I thought there was an accent problem in the movie - only one person was using a French accent, in a movie set in Paris. The rest of the cast was a mix of English and American (except Carlotta, and I thought Minnie did pretty good). I think this problem stood out mostly because Giry's accent was so pronounced. It made you notice that no one else was speaking with a French accent.

My favorite things about the movie:
1. The music - so glad they kept ALW's original score with almost all of the songs intact.
2. The scene with Buquet's murder is awesome.
3. The sword fight in the graveyard is awesome (minus the keyboard music!)
4. I liked the way they did the flashbacks in color and then transitioned to B&W.
5. Loved the opening, which gave me goosebumps.
6. The "Prima Donna" song sequence is hilarious.

I could go on but I'm sure you all already think I'm a total nutso Phantom freak.... guilty ;-)

Even after my minor complaints, I think the movie is great, and I totally recommend it. Though I'm not completely crazy about Butler's singing, he still did better than a few of the guys cast in the stage productions that I saw, plus, he's *quite* good looking, even with half a scarred face, so that makes up for it... ;-)

Hope my two cents helps! Sorry for the rambling... :-)

LS