The Shadow

Can the original haunted superhero of the '30s and '40s connect with a modern audience? Probably not. Despite classy production values, Mulcahy's attempt to emulate the sombre appeal of Tim Burton's Batman movies is too episodic, sketchy and uneven. Hiding his true identity beneath a cloak of invisibility, the Shadow (Baldwin) is a self-appointed crime fighter haunted by a murky past as a drug-dealer in the East. Now redeemed, he uses his supernatural powers to thwart the plans of Oriental villain Shiwan Khan (Lone), who through mind-control has forced Professor Lane (McKellen) to create a pseudo-atomic bomb. The Shadow's suave alter ego, playboy Lamont Cranston, finds time to romance Lane's daughter Margot (Miller). Baldwin's low-key performance lacks charisma, Lone alternates between lip-smacking villainy and camp humour, and Miller is chiefly a clothes-horse for a series of slinky '30s frocks.