BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

MichaelMRamey If I remember correctly, this is the first film I've seen with Alex Baldwin as the lead actor. Sure he did some overacting, but he wasn't half bad; that being said, he's no Christian Bale. I had fun watching this, but couldn't get past The corny lines and Baldwin's god awful nose prosthetic that looked almost like the gag prosthetic Matt Damon wears in Ocean's Thirteen. Not to mention we're meant to believe that he was a Asian warrior a long time ago, reminding me of the time John Wayne played Genghis Khan - ironically enough the Genghis Khan connection is prominent throughout the film. Worth a watch if you're into Superhero/Comic Book Films.

Michael_Elliott 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.

tvsweeney-39052 I loved listening to "The Shadow" on the radio and I liked the serial starring Victory Jory (and I'm now showing my age, aren't I?) I LOVED this movie! I can't say how many times I've seen it...in the theater, as a VHS and now on DVD.Great sets, just surreal enough to give that "comic book" air but not enough to be ridiculous, the designs and costumes catch the era perfectly from the Bauhaus phantom hotel to the image of the Shadow on the staircase, cape swirling around him, pistols at the ready.There's catchy dialogue and the cinematic work/editing exceptional. Alec Baldwin is perfect as the "Arrow Shirt Man" hero, though I wish they'd managed to show a little more of Lamont's pre-Shadow life. As far as I'm concerned, everyone was perfectly cast for their roles, from Baldwin on down to Tim Curry.I have no idea why this didn't do better at the box office than it did, unless it's because few of the younger generation of the viewing audience weren't aware of who and what the Shadow was. Too bad, for they missed an very entertaining film. Their loss.My only wish: That there had been a sequel.

thesar-2 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.