[Publicity photos of characters from this film are available on
the Vortex Technology WWW server via the "Professor Neon's TV
& Movie Mania" URL: "http://www.vortex.com/ProfNeon.html".]
THE SHADOW
A review by Professor Neon
June 30, 1994
Starring: Alec Baldwin, John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle,
Ian McKellen, Tim Curry, Jonathan Winters, Sab Shimono
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Produced by: Martin Bregman, Willi Baer, Michael S. Bregman
Written by: David Koepp
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
Universal Pictures; 1994
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Total run time: 112 minutes
Release date: Friday, July 1, 1994
Professor Neon's rating (0-10, 5=average, 10=best): 7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As superheroes go, most people know far less about "The Shadow" than other,
presumably more popular characters. Most who remember him think of radio
first (originally appearing as a nameless narrator to the "Detective Story
Hour" in 1930), with the famous, "Who knows, what evil, lurks in the hearts
of men? The Shadow knows..." line perhaps the only element many people
still remember. Fewer recall that he was also an immensely popular "pulp"
book character, whose principal author, Walter B. Gibson (who wrote published
Shadow stories under the name Maxwell Grant) would turn out more than a
million words of new Shadow material per year.
The Shadow was not primarily a comic book character, which is interesting,
since "The Shadow" film feels in many respects like a motion picture
rendition of a comic book plot. There was a significant relationship
between early pulp books and the comics of course, and The Shadow *was* the
first of the popular superheros (most of whom later became comic book
characters) with a dual identity (in the case of The Shadow, that identity
was "Lamont Cranston").
The film pits The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) against his most formidable enemy
from the pulp days--Shiwan Khan (John Lone), who alone among The Shadow's
adversaries also possesses telepathic and telekinetic powers, including the
ability to "cloud men's minds." Shiwan is the last descendant of Ghengis
Khan, and sets upon taking over world conquest where his ancestor left off,
but with more sophisticated weapons. The story is quite silly in many
respects, but still comic book fun.
Most of the action takes place in a 1930's to 1940's (an exact date is never
mentioned) New York City, which, true to the comic book leaning of the
film, contains various elements that are more fantasy than reality. While
not primarily a special effects film, the total number of effects shots
intertwined throughout approaches that of "Star Wars," and they're well
executed. Particularly memorable is a very special knife which is "animated"
in a fashion reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen's techniques brought up to date.
Acting performances are good, within the bounds of the "silliness"
of the script. Tim Curry's rendition of a particularly sleazy character
is particularly amusing.
"The Shadow" will inevitably be compared with the dark and moody "Batman"
film, and also contains elements that one might relate to "Star Wars," "The
Seventh Voyage of Sinbad," and other movies. While the first half or so of
"The Shadow" is quite dark, it does contain considerably more humor than
most other films of the genre. In fact, this relates to what is perhaps the
picture's biggest problem--it is very uneven. The action is relatively slow
for most of the first half of the film. After that, the tempo suddenly
changes. Action picks way up. Humor becomes *much* more pronounced, both
in dialogue and events. It's almost as if it were two separate films in
this respect, spliced together in the middle. I liked the second half
better than the first--when the film took itself less seriously, it became
more enjoyable.
"The Shadow" is not a "great" film. It is unlikely to become a "classic" or
have significant successful spin-offs, other than some Halloween costumes
this October. Maybe we'll seem a resurgence in radio stations playing the
old Shadow radio programs--which would be a real treat. "The Shadow"
is however a fun film for summer viewing. It's a picture that both
appropriately aged children and adults who aren't expecting a deep emotional
experience should enjoy.
[ Professor Neon ]
neon@vortex.com
----
Professor Neon's rating for "The Shadow"
(0-10, 5=average, 10=best): 7
---------------------------------------------
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