Contentar
Best movie of this year hands down!
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
dougdoepke
Third-rate programmer that trades on mystique of radio's The Shadow, but without the substance. The mystery part never gels, the many characters too crowded to get a handle on. Then too, the loose storyline fails to build enough interest to generate needed suspense. The basic problem, as I see it, is with a poorly constructed script. For geezers like me who tuned into radio's Shadow, this mystery man does little more than make an occasional half-baked appearance. No 'clouding men's minds' or any other of his fascinating spectral powers.Too bad actor LaRocque wasn't cast as a gentleman sleuth minus all the Shadow folderol. He's perfect as a William Powell type, needing a whiskey instead of a cape. Except for the youthfully uncertain Blakeley-- who soon went into the production end-- the acting is better than the material. On the other hand, the dim budget shows up in the many scenes that rarely leave studio interiors. All in all, it's a substandard programmer and a dis-service to a memorable radio program.
acct10132002
Not bad...now I know why the 1990s Shadow had no mask ever. The twin 1911 Army .45s were also missing. My problem was that I had initially read the Shadow as the early 1970s comic book. So I was very disappointed/angry that Hollywood would emasculate and unmask my daring, two-fisted gun-wielding hero with a totally forgettable character/plot in the 1990s. Then this year I viewed a copy of the suave,dapper mustache, no-mask, no .45s "Shadow Strikes" and last week the blond-haired/ no mustache/ no guns 1964 comic version. Recalling that my heart had been broken when my subscription check was returned in the 1970s and lawyers blamed...I was mollified and not angry anymore. Perhaps the estate lawyers sold the "Strikes" version to cheap-skate Hollywood moguls who never wanted a gun-wielding masked avenger in the first place. The usual pox be upon them until the third generation. I also recall that Hollywood, being easily confused if not demented/senile, may have decided that the Shadow was a "Cowboy type", ignoring the fact that he had no cowboy "get-up" or costume, holsters, or "six-guns". The Shadow should be armed with a pair of .45 AUTOMATICS as if ready to shoot Hitler and a few henchmen SS agents. Perhaps the Shadow could fight a new menace/fascism brother/sisterhood called Islamofascism. But I suppose Hollywood would have to grow a brain as well as reproductive danglers in a bag to be so bold and assertive. I'll not hold my breath for that to happen! I think "they" also forgot that time-travelling Nazis or a Nazi-era setting would sell a lot of tickets. The general public wants to see Nazis beaten back/captured if not shot to death. Recall that Roosevelt dealt with Nazi spies in WWII...three I think were executed for their crimes.
vollenhoven
For anybody who enjoyed the last movie update of the Shadow, this movie might be a bit of a shock. The movie lacks the character of the Shadow, twice we see the man and even then he lacks the magic and is just a man with a coat and had whom's face you don't see. Never you see why he strikes fear in the hearts of criminals.It looks like a detective story with as an afterthought the character of the Shadow thrown in. The story is about Lamont taking the identity of an out of town lawyer and in doing so he gets involved in a murder plot. As usual it is about big money to be inherited and gambling. And even the evil gangster in this movie is laughable, he seems to do his own things instead of his men, which proves his downfall.As a mystery, nice ending, as a Shadow movie a tad disappointing.
jmaxwell522
The film was lacking The Shadow as a character and had it not been for previous knowlege, the man who was impersonating the Lawyer would have been just a character, but having know it was Cranston/Shadow, the understanding of what he was doing was evident. Film lacked meat, just a basic plot and quick fix. Good ending and surprise killer. Very cliche though. Overall the film gets a plus for its portrayal of the Cranston/Shadow.
