oel Schumacher is probably among the worst-regarded movie directors alive today.

Purveyor of such cheese as “Batman and Robin” and “The Lost Boys,” it’s tough to imagine Schumacher at the top of any list to direct a big-screen version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” but somehow he is, and Schumacher redeems himself.

From the start, Schumacher’s flashy, campy style complements the over-the-top nature of Webber’s classic musical.

Set in 1871, the story follows the mysterious events surrounding the Opera Ghost, an enigmatic figure who lingers within the secret passages of the Paris Opera House. The Phantom (Gerard Butler) trains chorus girl Christine (Emmy Rossum) in the art of singing, all the while using threats of violence and disaster to earn Christine the starring role.

The Phantom is opposed by Raoul (Patrick Wilson), Christine’s young lover. When Raoul and Christine become engaged, the Phantom seeks vengeance on the lovers.

Webber gave Schumacher total freedom in the casting of this movie, provided his picks could sing their parts. Schumacher’s casting lacks any star power, with the exception of Minnie Driver, who plays Christine’s rival, Carlotta.

Rossum’s voice carries many scenes in the movie and Wilson provides a good foil for the Phantom. Butler’s performance is one of the most surprising in the film. Butler’s previous credits include the Wes Craven-produced “Dracula 2000,” where his moody presence in the title role is overrated and pretentious. As the Phantom, Butler displays more range and emotion – and, ironically, looks more like Dracula than he did in the Wes Craven movie.

On the down side, the movie clocks in at 143 minutes, with a few yawning moments between musical numbers. There are also times when Schumacher seems more thrilled with his amazing sets than with the actors populating them.

The vibrant musical numbers and elaborate sets provide the audience with a necessary transportation into a fantasy world. The transition is contrasted by a grainy black-and-white subplot in 1920s Paris, where an aged Raoul buys a precious music box in an Opera House auction. Schumacher depicts the future as gray and silent, while he makes the main plot in the past boisterous and colorful. By doing so, Schumacher makes a bold statement about the nature of the past and the present.

The main plot, set in 1871, vividly paints a conflict of good and evil with an excess of extravagance. The subplot conveys simple messages about the nature of life, love and memory.

Successfully interwoven, the movie is not only an effective adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical but also a fable concerning the exciting, maddening, intoxicating and somber effects of music.