Simply Perfect

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Half of me feels bad I barely paid attention to this second viewing after a two decade gap from my first time seeing it. The other half recognizes it was the movie's fault for not keeping my attention.YES, The Shadow debuted before Batman, but this film adaptation was an incredible rip-off of the Caped Crusader. Probably because of 1989 when the original Tim Burton comic book movie was launched, everyone wanted to capitalize on its success. Only, this took it a little too far. Even the setting was close to the same. The Shadow was set in the 1930s, which was when it initially debuted and though Burton's Batman was set in modern day, it did look 100% like the 1930s. I guess I could also say this was thoroughly like 1990's Dick Tracy (another comic-book to feed off the Dark Knight's Box Office) but it's been 16 years since I've seen that movie and the same year, 1990's Darkman. I have recently rewatched that one, and yeah, this also mimicked that movie. But, beyond the similarities, the movie and cast were just not interesting. Poor Alec Baldwin. I've always liked him. Despite all the background with his wives and real-life controversies, I've always liked him in his roles. Even here, he's trying. Real hard. But, maybe he didn't get it. 'It' being the character.Basically, a ruler with a black heart is turned around, trained and now fights crime in…the…Shadows…of NYC…eight decades ago. That's what I can remember. There has to be a bad guy…oh, some Genghis Khan descendant that The Shadow James Bonds with. Again, I was only half-paying attention. I saw this movie when it debuted in 1994 and didn't care for it much back then. Once the movie lost my undivided attention 15-20 minutes in this time around, I did other things while The Shadow mostly investigated and missed a bunch of stuff that went on around him (like someone falling to their death literally RIGHT BEHIND HIM.) The sets were actually pretty good – they did try as did the cast, but the overall movie was so bland, forgettable and probably only for die-hard The Shadow fans. And speaking of which, even in 1994, how many were still alive since the original broadcasts in the 1930s??***Final thoughts: Okay, there was a reason I barely paid attention. What I wrote above is all true, but the background is: I was rewatching this because the fantastic bad-movie podcast, How Did This Get Made?, covered this and I like to watch all of their movies before I listen to their show. Since I hadn't seen this in more than two decades, it was time to refresh my memory…even though the Shadow was already supposed to KNOW.

I'm very surprised that this movie didn't get very popular. There are many reasons why this movie is so wonderful. I've always loved good-looking Alec Baldwin, especially in his role as Jack Ryan in "The Hunt for Red October". In this movie his acting and expressions are very good along with the acting done by beautiful Penelope Ann Miller, great John Lone, funny Jonathon Winters as Lamont's uncle, and everyone else. Except for maybe Tim Curry, I've never really liked him. Though some people may not like it for it being pretty corny, I thought that's what it made it so fun to watch! The action is cool, especially the end where Alec Baldwin hunts down John Lone with all the mirrors and glass in the room. The witty humor in it gave this movie also a right touch. I love the part where Margo Lane keeps interrupting Lamont Cranston because she can read his mind and knows what he's going to say. The music is just fantastic, giving the movie a creepy feeling to it. The cinematography and the Gothic scenes also help.A film of this type is only as good as its villain, and thanks must be given to John Lone for turning in a journeyman job as Shiwan Khan. American audiences have seldom had a chance to see him in this sort of role, and he carries it off well, delivering the sort of lines one would expect of an evildoer stepping from the pages of a 1930's era pulp magazine. At times vicious, at other times charming and urbane, Lone meets the Shadow as an equal in ability and is fun to watch. If there is a problem with the film it's that there's perhaps too much of Lamont Cranstron and not enough of "The Shadow". Several elements from Walter Gibson's original "Shadow" stories are employed, and the moments when Baldwin appears as The Shadow are suitably exciting, but they are few and far between. Even at the climactic battle most of Baldwin's trademark Shadow accouterments are eliminated, and we're faced with Lamont Cranston trying to hold onto the situation. David Koepp, who has written enough excellent adventure-oriented screenplays, should've known better. The screenplay which David Goyer and Christopher Nolan turned in for 2005's "Batman Begins" is a much better example of how "The Shadow" should've been handled.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

THE SHADOW is a lesson in getting it right. Alec Baldwin is spot on as tortured Kent Allard who assumes the name Lamont Cranston and The Alter Ego The Shadow .Walter Gibson's Shadow's never gave him an origin. So this film starts as a starting point and gives The Shadow one. And its masterfully done. Howard Chaykin a comic book artist and writer Did a comic book mini series in 1986 Which introduced some of the elements used here.The Year is 1927. Former American soldier Kent Allard has gone insane and seized control of a army of barbarians. And he has complete control of the opium trade making him wealthy. Ying Ko as he is called is ruthless. Slaughtering villages and raping the women and forcing the men to serve him. Then Ying Ko is kidnapped dragged before a Tibetan priest who has complete control of his mind. He tells Ying Ko that now is the time for redemption. he will be entered to serve as a soldier for justice. he will teach him how to fight crime and destroy evil using his mind. And clouding men's minds leaving behind one thing he cannot control His Shadow.Flash forward seven years later. Kent Allard has assumed the name Lamont Cranston. and dines every night with his Uncle The police commissioner Wainwright. And after that prowls the streets destroying crimes as the shadow. those he saves becomes agents of the Shadow. together they form a network dedicated to smashing crime. Then comes two people. One is the beautiful Margo Lane who matches the Shadow mind power for mind power. And she soon comes to realize Cranston is hiding a secret. The second is Shiwan Khan the last living relative of Genghis Khan His goal is to finish what his relative started. Conquering the world. but to do that he needs a powerful new weapon. and he needs to destroy the Shadow.With the faithful Margo Lane at his side and Moe his faithful driver. and his network of agents the Shadow goes to war against the most cunning foe he's ever met.The Writing is top notch. the cast is wonderful and the director captures the mod of the Shadow. as well of the mood of the 30s . The Shadow plays like a wonderful time machine taking you back. Back to when times were easier bad guys were bad guys and heroes were heroes . nothing complicated. With that said if you are a fan of the pulp heroes The Shadow is as perfect a movie as there ever could be. My sons watched it with me and enjoyed it. The Younger generation was thrilled by the Shadow just as all the other ones were.

In true 30's period style and setting this comicbook/pulp adaptation visually looks awesome and captures the atmosphere of the era perfectly. If you think along the lines of 'Dick Tracy' and 'The Rocketeer' then you will get an idea of the vibe going on here. Even though the budget for 'The Phantom' was actually bigger than this film, director Mulcahy's film certainly looks the slicker and more realistic.The character of The Shadow isn't anything really special to be honest, its just a guy in a cloak with a fedora type hat on and he carries two guns. He always did seem like a poor man's Batman in all honesty, not too distant from the Phantom or Darkman actually. The main difference with this guy is the fact he does actually have some special super powers. He can cloud men's minds (what about women?) with a kind of spiritual hypnosis that blinds people to his presence...accept for his shadow oddly enough, hence his name. Oh and he's pretty snazzy with the two guns also. This character fits his dark little world perfectly in both his crime fighting form and his alias as a rich good looking 'Bruce Wayne' type. His lair has a neat little secret entrance just like Wayne Manor to the Batcave and he lurks around in the shadows quite nicely.The plot is an odd one, Baldwin starts off as a bad guy in Tibet after succumbing to his darker side not long after WWI (dunno why). He is then kidnapped by some wise holy man who for some reason will train Baldwin to be a good guy, unsure why really, but in the end he goes back to New York and begins his Batman-esque lifestyle. Then some other magical fellow turns up to challenge Baldwin or try and get him to join with him so he can gain world domination. This bad guy happens to be a distant relation of Genghis Khan, for some reason we have another crime fighter who must face off against a Khan. 'Hellboy' had to face off against the actual Genghis Khan, weird how Khan seems to pop up in these fantasy films.As you can guess from this story idea there is a lot of mystical hocus pocus going on throughout and the plot is slightly convoluted to be frank. Really the film excels with its visuals, a lovely looking old fashioned 30's New York complete with dated cars, store fronts and atmospheric swirling mist, the invisibility effects, shadow effects, hands on makeup and a surprisingly cool looking outfit for the Shadow (did someone pinch ideas for 'Dark City' here?). The sets are really well designed throughout too and look stunning I must say, beautifully presented and created, the sets are obvious but that adds to the charm and realism plus it works much better than CGI. Not too sure about the far East look for Baldwin's character though, wig was a bit crappy. There is of course some CGI present throughout which tends to swing from being reasonable (looking back now), to a bit hokey in places, bit plastic looking. Of course back in the day the effects were relatively special to a degree.The movie is great fun and looks slick with a good casting choice in Baldwin for the main heroic/bad guy lead. He looks perfect for the part of 'Cranston' the playboy and actually could well have been a good 'Bruce Wayne' too I'm sure, a bit gruff maybe. This is really how 'The Green Hornet' should of been approached instead of the geeky spoof-like farce it was. Shame 'The Shadow' failed at the box office as this is another decent period superhero flick adaptation which is uniquely fresh plot wise but visuals wise was maybe more familiar. You just gotta look past the solid but clichéd appearance. Gotta love that classic film poster though huh, just like 'The Rocketeer' they really capture the essence of the old style crime caper and dare devil hero aspect. Lovely combination of colours and art work, very striking.6/10