Film Snail

The Shadow
The Shadow

6.1

The Shadow

PG-13·1994·108m

Summary

Based on the 1930's comic strip, puts the hero up against his arch enemy, Shiwan Khan, who plans to take over the world by holding a city to ransom using an atom bomb. Using his powers of invisibility and "The power to cloud men's minds", the Shadow comes blazing to the city's rescue with explosive results.

Crew

Director

Russell Mulcahy

Characters

Walter B. Gibson

Screenplay

David Koepp

Reviews

John Chard

John Chard

September 24, 2019

6

What's that in the shadow?

The Shadow is directed by Russell Mulcahy and is based on the character of the same name created by Walter B. Gibson. It stars Alec Baldwin in the title role and support comes from John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle, Ian McKellen & Tim Curry. It's written by David Koepp who was a fan of the radio show that was re-run when he was a child. The plot basically sees Lamont Cranston (Baldwin) gain an alter ego (The Shadow) in mystical Tibet and with his new powers sets about fighting crime back in the states. All is going well until Shiwan Khan (Lone) shows up. He's the last descendant of Gengis Khan, and in keeping with that particular family tree, he's intent on global domination.

There's a lower tier of super hero movies that have either been poorly received in comparison to the big hitters like Bats, Supes and Spidey, or simply forgotten on account of how bad they are. The likes of "Daredevil", "The Phantom", maybe even "Darkman" and this here 94 piece, "The Shadow", are rarely mentioned by the super hero fan. Perhaps rightly it could be argued? But in spite of the tepid and unimaginative plot, "The Shadow" is an above average time filler that's at the least visually impressive. The 1930s Manhattan setting is excellently brought to life by the makers, and a pat on the back is due to them for not over doing the special effects. It looks and feels pulpy, and really there's nothing wrong with that at all. The cast in truth are just about OK, either under written or merely swamped by the production design, they turn up and play the movie as best they can.

Hardly ground shaking and not really pumping the blood as an action movie should. "The Shadow" does however have a dreamy quality that makes it worth a watch. Perhaps a sequel or a remake with a better story may just arrive one day? 6/10

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$25,000,000.00

Revenue:

$48,100,000.00

Keywords

new york city
atomic bomb
superhero
ladykiller
hypnosis
based on comic
radio series
invisibility
the shadow
neo-noir