I gotta tell ya.. I’ve never seen the 1994 adaptation THE SHADOW starring Alec Baldwin, I couldn’t get myself to rent and watch it, fearing that it would be just as time-wasting as watching Billy Zane’s take on The Phantom (1996). But guess what, even though previous report stated Sam Raimi’s next project, now that he’s out of SPIDER-MAN franchise, would be WORLD OF WARCRAFT, IESB said it might be THE SHADOW instead…
The website actually has a lengthy review of the script by Siavash Farahanl, here’s an excerpt to give you an idea…
Some of the lines voiced by The Shadow echo “Batman Begins”, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The way he approaches a criminal situation are very similar to “The Punisher” and “Batman”. His vigilante reputation where he is still looked at as a criminal by the police and the public echoes the ending of “The Dark Knight” and the agents give you a taste of “Wanted”. I hope that if this film does indeed make it to screen because if you are a comic-book fan you will love this script and a possible film, it is the general public that might not get on board as they should.
Another factor working against possible commercial success is the content. There is nudity and some brutal fight scenes. A man thrown into meat grinder and coming out as ground beef on the other side. Broken bones at every turn. Body parts strewn around a train station. Hookers servicing males. You’re looking at an “R” rating which ultimately can hurt box office if not given right type of marketing.
After Van Helsing, Solomon Kane, The Spirit, and THE SHADOW, I’m kind tired of looking at heroes with black hat and black coat outfit.
Head over to WIKI to familiarize yourself with this character…
As far as Raimi directing THE SHADOW, take this with grain of salt for now, here’s the old trailer from the 1994 movie.
