The Shadow Details

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”. Alec Baldwin does, here playing both wealthy socialite Lamont Cranston and his mysterious alter ego, the Shadow, who uses psychic powers to render himself invisible at will. The famous 1930s pulp-fiction crime-fighter takes on a descendant of Genghis Khan who's out to conquer the world with a pre-Second World War nuclear device in Highlander director Russell Mulcahy's flight of comic-strip fantasy. It's stuffed with fun clichés of the genre, and the spectacle of the exquisite design easily matches the visual punch of the special effects. Unfortunately, the flashy production values rather overshadow the performances of Baldwin and the star-studded supporting cast, while the plot rarely grips.

A dim attempt to revive a forgotten hero of pulp fiction, radio and a little-regarded cinema serial of the 40s; the period setting looks good but the story is thin and the result forgettable.