7 Under-Appreciated Superhero Movies You Should Revisit

5. The Shadow (1994) The Shadow has many of the same drawbacks that The Phantom does, but it's a better film because it makes an attempt to have a deep and interesting origin story. Another basic superhero premise here: The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) has to stop villain Shiwan Khan (John Lone), last descendent of Genghis Khan, from destroying New York with an atomic bomb and ruling the world. But as I said earlier, The Shadow does attempt to elevate itself, and it's these aims at greatness that make it a better movie than it's perceived. First off, we're given a backstory for Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and get glimpses as to who he was and why he eventually donned the hat and cape. I also liked the themes of mind control and telepathy between The Shadow, Shiwan Kahn and Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), Shadow's love interest. The cast is great overall. Alec Baldwin is perfectly cast as Cranston/The Shadow, though one can assume he was chosen for the role solely because of his voice. John Lone and Tim Curry are fun to watch in their roles as villains, and it was nice to see Ian McKellan in a small role as Margo's scientist father. My only major gripe with the casting is Penelope Ann Miller, who I think is completely miscast in her role as Margo Lane. That being said, I do like that her character isn't reduced to typical damsel in distress. The Shadow is not a great superhero movie, but it definitely does do a few things right and makes things a bit interesting, and is fun to watch nonetheless. Also, the movie is worth watching for Jerry Goldsmith's awesome score alone.