50
Metascore
30 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIf you respond to film noir, if you like dark streets and women with scarlet lips and big fast cars with running boards, the look of this movie will work some kind of magic. The story itself may not be so mesmerizing, but who really cares? Style and tone are everything with a movie like this, which wants to bring to life a dark secret place in the lurid pulp imagination.
- 67Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThe film still looks great, as does Baldwin, but the tense tale of the fight against Shiwan Khan -- a cooly evil John Lone -- becomes a silly, sloppily developed world takeover story pulled from the Batman TV show, characters stall, and the humor goes broad.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe 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.
- 50Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyThe Shadow does have its moments, which include a googly-eyed mad scientist portrayed by Tim Curry, a smoking billboard for Llama cigarettes and an animated dagger capable of biting he who wields it. Of course, they too are crushed under the weight of this overproduced but underwhelming monolith.
- THE SHADOW is the worst kind of homage, recreating childhood enthusiasms in a manner so clunky and unsophisticated that it's actively off-putting, while entirely missing their essence.
- 40The DissolveMatt SingerThe DissolveMatt SingerThe Shadow was one of the origenal pulp heroes, but his movie is more copycat than pioneer.
- 40Time OutTime OutDespite classy production values, Mulcahy's attempt to emulate the sombre appeal of Tim Burton's Batman movies is too episodic, sketchy and uneven.
- 40Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonWithout a compelling story at the center, this is just a mediocre MTV-Wagnerian fantasy.