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The Shadow Sequel Poll

What would be the theme for the sequel (i.e. dark and serious, or fun and campy like the 1994 movie, a bit of both, or something else)?

Want to add your own opinion? Email me! Don't forget to read the rules, though.


I think the tone of the sequel should be a mix of humor and drama, just like the 1994 film. In that film, Cranston and Khan had some funny lines, but they still grappled with serious and dramatic issues of good versus evil. The appeal of The Shadow, to me, was the conflict within himself, always stuggling so that the evil doesn't overcome him. To ignore that fact and just make The Shadow a crimefighting detective would be to cheapen the very reason he is interesting. But any serious movie needs a little bit of humor, which could be supplied by his agents (like Moe, Margo, and maybe even another.) And as a final point, I recommend that the movie ignore the Kent Allard connection, and assume that his true identity is Lamont Cranston.

—Nick Martorelli
I would have to agree with Nick. Ignore the Kent Allard connection and go completely with Lamont Cranston. It would have a lot more action, a little more serious story, maybe a bit more challenging for The Shadow... Khan and The Shadow are good representation of Good and Evil. Maybe a final showdown... only Walter B. Gibson knows for sure.

—Qutime
First off, I would disagree that the theme of the 1994 film was fun and campy. I think that the film tried to establish a dark and mysterioso feeling or theme. There was a bit of mild, self-referential humor, like the early James Bond films (On a tangent, but still germaine to the main topic is this: Every action-adventure film that has been released since the Bond films came out have always tried to copy the humor and style of the 007 films. In many cases, they fail, even some of the Bond films of the 1980's. This is a case of a brand-name so overwhelming the market with it's product that every competitor feels they have to copy it just to get noticed. They do, but not in the way they hoped. They usually end up looking inferior to what they copied and veryone will call it a pale imitation of what is being copied)

The Shadow tried to establish it's own style, indebted to Bond in small ways, but managed to stand on it's own two feet with it's blend of action and humor. The only place that the film truly fell down was the runaway bomb scene towards the end. While I was sitting in the theater watching it, I truly felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I watched this totally out of place slapstick sequence invade a film that was preceding so well towards a very well done conclusion. Seeing the bouncing bomb roll down the staircase, knocking Margo and Dr. Lane about like bowling pins totally destroyed the mood of the film, making the confrontation between Khan and The Shadow less powerful than it should have been. (In the script of the film, this sequence is not played for laughs. The bomb is released from where it is hanging in Khan's throne room and starts to roll for a hole in the unfinished wall of the Hotel Monolith. Margo and Dr. Lane think it will all be over, but the bomb is too big to fit through the hole and wedges itself there. The defusing sequence follows as in the film.)

If there ever is a sequel, I think the theme should be dark and moody, shadowy and mysterioso. The Shadow preceded James Bond and all other contenporary action heroes by 30 years, if not more. He has a right to choose his own mood and the audience, uncomfortable and unused to the mood, should be open enough to try something new. I hate to keep harping back to the Bond films, but when they first came out, people did not know what to make of them. Were they semi-realistic spy films? Action-adventure? Or, in the broadest sense, were they comedies with very dark humor?

" Where were they going?" asks a workman of Bond after a hearse goes off a cliff.
"I think they were on their way to a funeral, " replies Bond.

Dark and moody should dominate. There will be humor, but it will be appropriate to the piece.

—William Hunt
I think the sequel should be fun and campy like the '94 movie. This was 'pulp fiction' at it's best! When Lamont would influence someone with his mind and the lighting on his face changed or the scene with the bomb rolling, this was pure unadulterarted fun! The way it was meant to be, over the top. Alot of people just don't understand or appreciate pulp for what it is.

—Francis Walker

 

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