The Shadow Knows Entertainment

"The Shadow" is not one of the all-time great movies.

Fifty years from now, people will not be dropping quotes from "The Shadow" the way they say, "Follow the yellow brick road" or "Tomorrow is another day." Film students will not get "The Shadow" covered in their Truly Incredible Movies classes. Reviewers will not have "The Shadow" on their top 10 movie lists for the 20th century.

The movie's not incredible.

But it's good.

In fact, it may turn out to be one of the better movies of the summer. It's got style, it's got wit, it's got danger and it's got a good-looking blonde who's pretty damn smart.

Oh, and it's got Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston, also known as the Shadow, the mysterious crime-fighter equally comfortable in Far East opium dens, dark alleys and posh clubs (even if he's always late for dinner with his uncle).

The movie version of the Shadow is based more than a little on Batman-a rich playboy with a darker side that he uses to fight crime. But Baldwin's Cranston has a bit more of an edge than Keaton's Batman. When we first meet him, he's known as "The Butcher," who has amassed a fortune in the Far East and is living a life of depravity in Tibet. Cranston is redeemed when a "holy man" forcibly takes the Westerner under his wing to teach him "how to cloud men's minds."

Cranston's career as the Shadow, then, is his penance for his formerly corrupt lifestyle, not a whim he indulges in. And he doesn't act alone. In fact, whenever the Shadow saves your life, it belongs to him, as he tells the scientist whom he rescues from mobsters at the beginning of the movie. The Shadow uses his "agents" to keep him posted on evil doings within the city.

Just think of New York City (pre-Depression era) as a giant spiderweb, with Cranston as its center. A little spooky? Yes. So is Cranston, the master manipulator. But the makers of the film don't go over-board with his mystical abilities. Cranston isn't a superman--he's just a snazzily dressed guy with the ability to "cloud men's minds" to effectively hide his presence or convince them to do his bidding.

Cranston's life as the taxi-catching Shadow is disrupted by the arrival of Shiwan Khan, a direct descendent of Genghis Khan, who wishes to take over the world--starting with the Big Apple. He plans to use the semi-mythical material broncium in an implosive device--something which Cranston christens an "atomic bomb." "Catchy," replies the scientist (yup, the one he saved at the beginning) who tells him about the broncium.

And that is one of the highlights of "The Shadow"--the wit. Most action-adventure movies have problems with transitions, muffing their scene switches and storyline changes. "The Shadow" covers up the potentially awkward moments with witty lines, allowing for a smoothly flowing movie--and a fair amount of laughs.

"The Shadow" also boasts well-rounded, well-acted characters. As Cranston's sort-of girlfriend Margo Lane, Penelope Ann Miller manages to be both sexy and sharp, using her spotty telepathic powers to help out Cranston. Lane's father Reinhardt is the classic absorbed-in-his-work scientist (who can't tell the difference between red and green), but Ian McKellen gives the character a subdued charm.

Tim Curry also pulls off his role as Farley Claymore, Reinhardt's odious partner, very well. He's as slimy here as he was in "The Three Muskateers," and completely power-mad--a perfect ally for Khan when the would be ruler tries to carry out his plan to take over New York.

It's a measure of the attention to details of this movie--the acting, the dialogue, the scenery, etc.--that the plotline doesn't sink with the audience. A scheme to take over the world using an explosive device is hardly fresh or entertaining, but it doesn't really hinder "The Shadow" that much.

The special effects are appropriately muted, confined mostly to Cranston's "invisible" exploits, although there is a really cool live knife that has a tendency to bite the hand holding it. It's all about control, of course.

"The Shadow" isn't particularly deep or life-changing. But it is entertaining and well put together. It may be one of the better movies of the summer. Whatever, it's definitely worth checking out.

And remember, if you don't go to see it, the Shadow will know.