I liked the Shadow quite a bit actually, the character is one I've followed for a looooong time, through the comic books, and even through radio tapes I've bought. I saw a play in Chicago once based on what was took place in production of the radio show back in the 30s or so, and it was really hillarious.
I agree that all the good comic movie franchises become way to comercialized after the initial movie, fortunately for one's like Dick Tracy and The Shadow the original was allowed to be experimented with, giving it a much more pulp hero feel, which if done correctly is really fun to watch. This was true with Batman too in the beginning, a fantastic film, although after looking back I'm suprised Tim Burton didn't tweak the story more than he did, he's notorious for doing stuff as mentioned above. I agree that the only major flaw that I rolled my eyes at was having a young Joker as Batman's killer, a little to Hollywood cliche.
