Shadow Strikes!, The

Updated
 
9.4 (15)
4530 0 1 0 4

User reviews

14 reviews with 9-10 stars
15 reviews
 
93%
 
7%
5-7 stars
 
0%
3-5 stars
 
0%
1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.9(15)
Audio Editing
 
9.8(15)
Visual Editing
 
9.6(15)
Narrative
 
9.5(15)
Enjoyment
 
9.4(15)
Back to Listing
14 results - showing 1 - 5
1 2 3
Ordering
(Updated: March 18, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
The Shadow Knows.... this is a great edit! Removing the beginning origin scene and getting rid of the forced humor not only makes The Shadow more mysterious and intimidating, but it also saves us from Alec Baldwin's silly long wig! Learning about Lamont's dark past later on in the film instead of the beginning also improves the narrative, as we see him as a hero first and the extent of his criminal past comes as a surprise when Shiwan Khan reveals it to the audience.

While I miss the saturated colors of the original, the conversion to b&w gives it a fun pulp noir vibe, like it came right out of the era the Shadow originated from.

This is the definitive version of "The Shadow " for me. Highly recommended.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
B
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: March 13, 2022)
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
The Shadow Strikes takes what was, unfortunately, a mediocre treatment of one of the greatest fictional characters of the early 20th century, and makes it a very engaging watch. This may be the ideal way to watch this movie!

This edit has succeeded in improving The 1994 Shadow movie by tightening up the narrative, removing most of the awful dialogue and increasing pacing into something that is a much more enjoyable film. The original cut was never going to be what The Shadow deserves. This edit polishes the film into something that even Walter B. Gibson, The Shadow's creator, would be proud of.

By transferring the film to black and white and removing a lot of the nonsensical one-liners and unneccesary attempts at humor, this edit offers a pulp-noir experience, closer to the original magazine stories. Everytime I have seen the original cut I wince in many places, and wonder what the screenwriter was thinking. In many places the film feels like the screenwriter didn't know what to write, so he put in weird dialogue and gave the audience a series of strange scenes that don't make for an engaging experience. What I think this film does is trim out nearly all of the bad bits and gives us what the film should have been. Could this edit have been in color? Sure, but that's not what the editor was going for. By making this edit feel like a movie serial, the editor has demonstrated that he understands The Shadow and understands how a pulp-noir world is supposed to work.

A very well done and thoughtful effort.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
G
2 reviews
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Im a huge fan of this movie and to be able to watch it like a old school 1930s serial , was just absolutely amazing.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
N
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
A great take on this fun, underrated, gem of a movie. The new opening sets up the main character much better. Now we only find out later in the story, appropriately through a nightmare, how disturbing the Shadow's past is. The black and white works really well, though I love the richly saturated colors of the original. The "reel changes" are a clever way to set the tone of old, worn film without forcing us to watch the entire movie that way. In all a great success.
Despite the improvements, this movie remains flawed. Much better than the clunky story of Doc Savage (1975), it falls short of nostalgia for the 1930s of The Rocketeer (1991). But for fans of The Shadow, there's no alternative (until the if-wishing-made-it-so animated feature in the style of W.M. Kaluta using Orson Welles' voice from the salvaged radio plays!).
While not a perfect replacement for the original, I find myself watching this version more often than the color original.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
L
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I saw this one in the theater and loved it right away. The movie is a solid throwback with some minor pacing flaws and a few weak jokes. BionicBob realizes this and simply makes minor cuts to make a good movie even better. I did not notice any editing flaws and the pacing has been improved and feels great. It's just a tighter and better movie now.

My only complaint is a personal one and I'm even conflicted on it: the use of black and white. BionicBob was trying to make this seem like a movie right out of the 50's so black and white works fine, but the problem is that the movie also looks great in color. The scientist being colorblind also does not work so well in black and white.

That being said, the edit is great and I highly recommend it.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
14 results - showing 1 - 5
1 2 3