From my favorite movies..

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

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.

The Shadow (1994) ** (out of 4)The madman Shiwan Kan (John Lone) is building up an atomic bomb to do some major distruction but he has to deal with The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) who plans on putting a stop to his crooked plans.THE SHADOW was released to some rather mixed reviews and it seems that over the last couple decades it has pretty much been forgotten. The film is based on the comic strip and while there are a lot of good things here, there's no doubt that overall this is a pretty diasppointing film.I think what I enjoyed most about the film is that it really did a great job at making the setting look like the 1930s. The look of the film is quite excellent as the cinematography is top-notch and the costume design is perfect. I thought the film also did a very good job at creating this universe and the film has a very authenic look and feel to it.As far as the cast goes, Baldwin is actually quite good in the lead role and especially during some of the darker moments where Baldwin's personality can come through. I thought Lone was pretty disappointing as the hero. Normally I love Penelope Ann Miller but she wasn't given too much to work with here. It's always fun to see Peter Boyle, Ian McKellen, Tim Curry and Jonathan Winters but none of them are given much to do.As great as everything looks, there's still something missing in the film. I'm not exactly sure what it was but I had a hard time connecting to the characters, the story and I'd argue that the action wasn't all that thrilling.

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.

If you're looking for an entertaining superhero movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, 'The Shadow' might just be it. The film is based on a character created in 1931, who first appeared in pulp novels and then in a popular radio show. Alec Baldwin plays Lamont Cranston, aka The Shadow, a mysterious hero in 1930s New York City, who has psychic powers that allow him to control people's minds and appear invisible – except for his shadow. It's a cool concept. He's confronted by the villainous Shiwan Khan, descendant of Genghis Khan, (played by John Lone, of 'The Last Emperor') who shares similar powers with Cranston and has a plot to conquer the world! Baldwin is smooth as The Shadow, but less so whenever he wears a long hair wig... I spent much of the time wondering whether Lone's beard was real or not. Either way, he looks a bit ridiculous as Khan. 'The Shadow' ventures into camp territory and is plain silly at times. But it's funny. Much of it is an exercise in absurdity and I was half expecting the actors to suddenly burst out in laughter. The bottom line is that I enjoyed watching it. The cast also includes Penelope Ann Miller, Ian McKellen and a typically kooky Tim Curry.