Julien Neaves, Editor
Plot: Wealthy playboy Lamont Cranston is secretly the mysterious vigilante The Shadow. When New York City is threatened by megalomaniac Shiwan Khan, the last descendant of conqueror Genghis Khan, he and a scientist's daughter team up to stop him.
Review: On July 1 criminally underrated superhero flick The Shadow celebrated its 30th anniversary. Based on the pulp fiction character created in 1931 by Walter B. Gibson, the 1994 film received mixed reviews from critics and flopped at the box office. And that is unfortunate, as I remember enjoying it back in the day and it held up surprisingly well when I rewatched it recently. So, with an ominous SPOILER ALERT, let's dive on in.
No. I don't see a huge building there. Have you been smoking a doobie?
The film would not have worked without Alec Baldwin's charismatic, haunted and witty performance as Cranston/The Shadow. The actor clearly understood what type of movie he was in (a dark, pulpy, slightly campy superhero romp) and seemed to be enjoying himself in the role. As Cranston he is all suave and debonair and as The Shadow, he is mysterious and powerful. The costume is also very cool, with its cowboy influences and the odd, over-sized face. And this a hero that not only battles with guns and his fists but also with telepathy which he uses to hide his true face, turn invisible, and to mess with criminals' minds. Baldwin's demented Shadow cackle remains as entertaining as it was three decades ago. I also liked the lore of him secretly recruiting people to become his agents with a ruby ring.
Penelope Ann Miller (The Relic, Carlito's Way) serves up spunk, sex appeal and several glamorous looks (the costuming in this film is outstanding) as socialite, nascent telepath and love interest Margo Lane. The chemistry between Margo and Cranston is hot enough to set the Shadow's hat ablaze and the two actors were dynamite together. I must also give a shout out to Peter Boyle as funny taxicab driver and Shadow ally Moses "Moe" Shrevnitz . Unfortunately, Future Magneto and Gandalf actor Ian McKellen, who plays Margo's scientist father Dr Reinhardt Lane, has his talents wasted on a one note character that spends most of his time mind-controlled by telepathic big bad Shiwan Khan. Late comedian Jonathan Winters as Cranston's uncle and the police commissioner and he is decent enough in the limited role.
Look into my eyes. My big, beautiful eyes
If Baldwin enjoyed himself playing The Shadow (as I suspect) then John Lone must have had a ball playing Shiwan Khan. The villain was so cartoonishly over-the-top you would swear he walked right out of a comic book and Lone makes it his mission to leave not one piece of the scenery unchewed. Khan's lively interactions with Cranston are some of the best scenes in the entire film. And, of course, the villain's plan is to threaten to blow up New York with an atomic bomb. What else would it be? Also livening up proceedings is veteran character actor Tim Curry as greedy and sleazy scientist Farley Claymore who allies with Khan and his Mongol warriors. The Shadow tricking Farely into jumping to his death remains darkly delightful to watch.
The action in the film remains quite solid, with the Shadow stalking and taunting his prey like Batman before beating the crap out of them, also like Batman. The CGI, however, did not age that well, with some of the dream sequences and Phurba, the creepy mystical flying dagger, appearing quite dated. And I understand the decision to give Cranston a dark past but him being an evil Mongol warlord just felt off and unbelievable. The final act is also a bit bereft for fisticuffs, with Khan's Mongol henchmen weirdly disappearing and the fight between hero and villain being reduced to the Shadow stabbing Khan with Phurba and then with a shard of glass in his head after a bunch of mirrors exploded in a sequence that does not look at all believable. Khan shouting that he is a descendant of Genghis Khan in an insane asylum is still hilarious though.
I can do this all day
The Shadow is not a perfect movie, but it is a thoroughly entertaining one. It has an interesting hero, an over-the-top villain, a sizzling romance, cool action and a distinct visual style. Both the movie and the character deserve more love, and who knows if he will one day return to the big screen. The Shadow knows...
Editor Jules' Score: 7 out of 10
Are you a fan of The Shadow? Whisper about it in the comments. and you can check out more 90s superhero action below:
REVISITING 'THE ROCKETEER' 30 YEARS LATER
REVISITING CULT CLASSIC 'THE CROW' AT 30
REVISITING HORROR-INSPIRED SUPERHERO 'DARKMAN' AT 30
DOES BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM LIVE UP TO THE HYPE
Julien "Editor Jules" Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by the Cryptkeeper, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like "13 flavours of awesome sauce". Read more.
No comments:
Post a Comment