Alec Baldwin is horribly miscast as a sly, spooky vigilante in this spring-loaded combo pack of adventures culled from the old Shadow radio programs and pulp magazines. In many ways it's a spiritual successor to Big Trouble in Little China, in that it's self-parodying, ridiculous and shamelessly over-the-top. It even goes so far as to bring in James Hong, Big Trouble's main villain, for a quick death in the opening scene. But where there's no questioning the intentions of that Kurt Russell action vehicle, The Shadow is trepidatious and ambiguous enough to leave me wondering if it might just be intended as serious material.

Baldwin is completely unconvincing as the straight gunslinger, though creative special effects take care of most of his action scenes, and his 30 Rock squint regularly peers out at us despite a cowl, hat and heavy makeup. Director Russell Mulcahy (of Highlander fame) makes things worse by constantly interrupting the lead's speeches to play endless shadows over the contours of his face. Because it's The Shadow, get it? Tim Curry and Ian McKellen are wasted on small, unremarkable roles that don't add a thing to the picture; a shame, because it really could've used a standout supporting player or two. Absurdly bad and inadvertently hilarious.