The Shadow (1994)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent adaptation.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It feels strange that currently we are amidst a massive Superhero binge. Hollywood has managed to saturate the superhero genre but there was a time once when a Superhero film was a lifetime event. The Shadow belongs to that era- based on the pulp character from the 30s this is a polarizing film. I loved it for the most part especially the low key feel and tone. The casting is good and Alec Baldwin is more than adequate. Say what you will about the guy and his temper, he was a dashing man(and still is) and plays both The shadow and his alias Lamont Cranston quite well. Reviewers thought otherwise and even the box office was tepid but this film has developed a cult following ever since.

As a longtime fan of the fiction and culture of the 1930s, I'll admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about this film. I thought it would be a mediocre film with over-the-top acting and a crappy soundtrack. I have seldom been happier to be proved wrong in my initial assessment of a film!Seriously, this film is a hell of a lot of fun. The acting is superb on all counts, with a young Alec Baldwin easily stealing the show as both Lamont Cranston and The Shadow from amazing actors like Sir Ian McKellan and Tim Curry. Not only that, but if you listen to the original radio dramas of The Shadow on YouTube or iTunes, you start to understand exactly how well the film makers adhered to the source material. Apart from a small handful of changes, the characters are virtually untouched, and this is what lends the film it's feeling of authenticity, while still remaining fantastical in nature.The special effects are subtle, but very effective in their use of turning The Shadow invisible by clouding people's minds. The soundtrack is as near flawless for a film from the mid-nineties as I have ever seen, and both the set designers and the department in charge of props and vehicles certainly deserve a mention for their outstanding jobs in bringing a truly believable version of the Radio Pulp world of The Shadow to the big screen.For me, though, it is not the individual components of the film that make it so good; rather, it is the combination of the acting, the soundtrack, the set design and the special effects, that, coupled with a compelling storyline and characters that still stand the tests of time after nearly 100 years of being in the public's eye, makes a fun, thrilling film that is a classic piece of superhero cinema.

It's after WWI Tibet. Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) is a brutal opium drug-lord known as Ying-Ko. He is kidnapped by the men of holyman Tulku. Tulku teaches him to cloud men's minds except for his shadow. Seven years later, he is back in NYC as a vigilante crime fighter known as The Shadow. Shrevnitz (Peter Boyle) is his cab driving sidekick and police commissioner Wainwright Barth (Jonathan Winters) is his uncle. Cranston falls for socialite Margot Lane (Penelope Ann Miller) but her natural telepathic power threatens to reveal his secret. Her father Reinhardt Lane (Ian McKellen) is an atomic scientist working for the War Department. Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the last descendant of Genghis Khan, is another student of Tulku. He is even more powerful than Lamont. He has resisted the change to good and plans for world domination. He has accumulated a special metal and with a mind-controlled Reinhardt, he is building an atomic bomb.This has a lot of visual style of a comic book late 20s. It's well done with the Chinese motif. The style does overwhelm the movie a bit. I wonder if the movie needs some humor to balance out the darker tones. Baldwin has a couple of snappy lines. I think he could have done more along that line. Also he needs a funny sidekick. The movie is not serious enough to go all dark.

Directed by Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) and written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man), The Shadow is excellent, and one of the best superhero films.In post-WWI Asia, an American man named Lamont Cranston has become corrupt, now a ruthless and bloodthirsty warlord. Lamont is kidnapped, and is brought to a holy man who teaches him to use the darkness in himself to combat evil, redeeming Lamont. He gains hypnotic powers that allow him to alter what others perceive. When he returns to 1930's New York City, Lamont becomes the Shadow, and fights crime. Those who the Shadow saves become his agents, helping him as informants. Lamont meets Margo Lane, a woman able to read minds. Despite a mutual attraction, Lamont avoids seeing her so she won't discover his secret. The evil Shiwan Khan, Genghis Khan's last descendant arises, and the Shadow must stop him from building an atomic bomb that will destroy the city.Alec Baldwin's performance as the Shadow is spectacular, he nails the character's voice during his intimidation tactics, he's consistently great throughout the film. John Lone as Shiwan Khan is a good villain, he's at his best during his introduction. Penelope Ann Miller, Ian McKellan, and Peter Boyle all do well in their supporting roles, remaining likable and entertaining characters throughout, and Tim Curry is particularly great as the secondary antagonist. The production design is one of the film's greatest strengths, perfectly capturing a 30's noir look. The cinematography is also great, and enhances the production design. It's very easy to immerse yourself into the world this movie creates. Jerry Goldsmith's score is incredible, as far as superhero film scores go I'd rank it among Danny Elfman's Batman and John Williams' Superman. Sinoa also performs a great song, "Some Kind of Mystery".Wildly underrated and entertaining, I highly recommend The Shadow.