Highly recommend this to anyone who loves musicals.

I had seen many variations of the Phantom of the Opera before seeing this film. Some were parodies, other's were episodes for TV shows based on the idea of the Phantom of the Opera. Out of all those, I had no idea there was a musical. But then when I got the chance to watch it, I took it. And I was pleasantly surprised.
Phantom of the Opera is based on the stage musical by Andrew Loyd Webber, which is based on the 1909 novel of the same name. This film adaptation attempts to portray the story as a musical and it works very well for this film.
First of all, there is obviously the music. It just blew me away, especially the first time you hear Christine, the main female character, sing. Even if you may not like one song, there's bound to be another that you'll absolutely love, my personal favorites being the main theme, Think of Me, Masquerade, and Past the Point of No Return.
Secondly, there are the sets and the stunning costumes. The the set for the opera itself is a spectacle to see, as the vivid architecture and colors jump out at you. The costumes especially lend to the feel of the entire film and the time period. My personal favorite costume is actually the Phantom's costume when he first appears. It gives this feeling of mystery and class to the character.
The acting is pretty good too. The acting by Emmy Rossum (Christine) and Gerad Butler (The Phantom) is undoubtedly the best in the entire film. The rest of the characters are well acted too, except for Raoul (played by Patrick Wilson). I honestly did not like the acting for Raoul's character, but I honestly don't know why. It might have something to do the bad writing. Seeing as this was written by Joel Schumacher, a director and writer who is known for directing average to good movies, yet writing some really bad dialogue. And this film does suffer from that. The writing isn't that good honestly. That's all that has to be said.
However, overall, Phantom of the Opera is still a blast to watch and to listen to. I don't know how it compares to the original stage adaptation or even the novel, so it could be bad when compared to those. However, if you put aside some of the negatives, it is still a great film overall.