SummaryIn 30's New York City, the Shadow battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan, who is building an atomic bomb.
Directed By:Russell Mulcahy
Written By:Walter B. Gibson, David Koepp
The Shadow
Metascore
Mixed or Average
50
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
37% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
57% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
7% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
75
The movie has a hallucinatory intensity that is skillfully mixed with light-comic relief and straight-faced farce. It never takes itself too seriously, and never veers too far in the other direction by surrendering to self-parody. [01 Jul 1994, p.3D]
70
Style is almost everything here, and it's a tough call whether the star is handsomer than the sets.
User score
Generally Favorable
67% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
17% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
17% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
May 19, 2022
10
I see this movie as hidden gem. It is based on „The Shadow“ who was a really successful super hero in the 1930/40 with radio dramas, comics and even movies. Also the Batman creators took a lot of inspiration from him and you will see this even in this review. Sadly the character became somehow forgotten and is rarely used today. Back to the movie. It is the story of Lamont Cranston rich spoiled playboy by day and vigilante hero “The Shadow” by night. However he was not always like this and has a past that haunts him (Do you see that this description also fits Batman with 100% accuracy? ;-). However things got serious when a new player enters New York with Shiwan Khan and the woman Margo Lane discovers strange things about him aka his playboy persona. I am vague to avoid spoilers. The story grabbed me from start to finish. It has of cause a heroes journey, search for redemption, character development and a lot of enjoyable moments. The pacing was excellent, the twist are good and the fitting characters round it up. I see no missteps and praise the actors, writer David Koepp and director Russell Mulcahy. For the actors we got an amazing Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston / Shadow. He nails both sides of the character and always feels genuine. John Lone as Shiwan Khan is such a lovable antagonist. He is evil and enjoys it as. Margo Lane played by Penelope Ann Miller rounds up the main characters with a great performance. For the side characters I remember Peter Boyle as Moses, the Tulku (could not find the actors name) and Farley Claymore played by Tim Curry as being really good. A truly good cast for me. I also want praise the sets, costumes and special effects as these create an intense atmosphere. I think the special effects aged a bit poorly but I don't mind. Overall I repeat that this is a hidden gem and really good movie. I recommend it for film noir, Batman and super hero movie fans.
Jul 25, 2021
10
The Shadow is a perfect homage to the old long forgotten comic Shadow superhero, in short runtime it establishes it's own unique universe in 1920's America and manages to go through all the stages of a movie and never feels boring which is why I give it a 10/10. It's not Marvel super 3 hour long metaverse, it's quaint, short and have soul. The performances of John Lone is superb, the acting is great, Penelope Ann Miller makes you fall for her but ofc the star of the show Alec Baldwin is an amazing actor, he gives the shadow a lot of depth and his physiognomy makes him work as both a villain and hero. And ofc kudos to Tim Curry, amazing performance as always, you can't help but love him. I have probably seen this movie over 20 times and I never am bored, every scene brings something and feels natural. Excellent Movie, I miss old hollywood.
63
The Shadow's problems have nothing to do with the basic premise; rather, they are flaws in execution. The setup promises something more invigorating than it delivers.
50
Alec Baldwin, star of The Shadow, looks great in his tux, and maybe he can even act, but the script doesn't give him the chance. It can't decide whether it's in the humour department or the thrills business. [01 Jul 1994]
50
Despite similarities as a vigilante creature of the night, however, the Shadow — a character that enjoyed its greatest success in radio after being created in pulp novels — lacks the visceral appeal of Batman and won’t strike the same chord with moviegoers.
42
The Shadow comes off as a gussied-up attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the recent Batman and Dick Tracy films, and unfortunately, it's closer to the latter. It should have stayed in the shadows. [01 Jul 1994, p.6B]
20
A hodgepodge of violent action, ostentatious effects, and lunkheaded jokes, stitched together by a hackneyed plot. [01 Jul 1994, p.13]
Jul 18, 2025
6
I enjoyed this film but won’t rush to watch it again. It has a great start and then slows down with some great peaks and slow troughs throughout. The film looks fantastic, I love this era of filmmaking before CGI and after compositing became commonplace. My only gripe is that most of the visual effects shots have crushed blacks and are more grainy which makes them stand out from the rest of the film. The sets that they built look fantastic, some of the best sets in any film. The setting is just so awesome! It really is a high quality production which is surprising as this film seems to have been largely forgotten and I think that I know why. It shares too much with Darkman (1990), The Crow (1994) and **** Tracy (1990) and all of those films are (arguably) better and more memorable than The Shadow but it is still worth seeking out.
Sep 6, 2024
3
Alec Baldwin is horribly miscast as a sly, spooky vigilante in this spring-loaded combo pack of adventures culled from the old Shadow radio programs and pulp magazines. In many ways, it's a spiritual successor to Big Trouble in Little China, in that it's self-parodying, completely ridiculous and shamelessly over-the-top. It even goes so far as to bring in James Hong, Big Trouble's main villain, for a quick death in the opening scene. But where there's no questioning the intentions of that Kurt Russell action vehicle, The Shadow is trepidatious and ambiguous enough to make me wondering if it might have been intended as serious material. Baldwin is completely unconvincing as the straight gunslinger, though creative special effects take care of most of his action scenes, and his 30 Rock squint regularly peers out at us through the cowl, hat and caked-on makeup. Director Russell Mulcahy (of Highlander fame) makes things worse by constantly interrupting the hero's monologues to play endless shadows over the contours of his face. Because it's The Shadow, get it? Tim Curry and Ian McKellen are wasted on small, unremarkable roles that don't add a thing to the picture; a shame, because it really could've used a standout supporting player or two. Absurdly bad and inadvertently hilarious.
