Shadow is an action-packed drama that combines together powerful imagery and the concept of shadows to serve as a historical period drama. The movie revolves around a genius military commander, a king who came to power too young, the king's willful and bold sister, the military commander's wife and so much more as a true fight for power is unleashed in a Chinese kingdom. Utilizing trickery and using someone that looks exactly like him, the military commander is able to call this person a shadow and implements him to ensure that his plan comes to fruition. While physically dying, this military commander still understands how the kingdom functions and knows exactly what it takes to achieve power over a rival kingdom. However, as the commander finally gets the opportunity to carry out his plan, he soon discovers that he's not the only one fighting for power in a struggling and violent world. 
 Shadow proves to be a visually astounding symbolic adventure that heavily relies on the profound imagery that seems to have served as an inspiration for this tale. As the title implies, the idea of shadows becomes an eccentric focal point that the plot revolves around. Shadows are used to gain power, and are treated as nothing more than pawns, but in the end, the shadow in the movie might just be the most deadly one of them all. Additionally, the movie is directed beautifully simply because it ensures that the majority of the movie mostly uses various shades of grey, white and black. This allows there to be a distinct contrast between the colors of the movie and the simultaneous usage of rain, which always seems to be pouring the movie, to further develop the symbolism of a Tai Ching symbol. This symbol, which might also be better known as a Yin-Yang symbol, serves as a huge metaphor to showcase the battle between good and evil, femininity and masculinity, and rain and fire. All of these symbols combine together to create a movie that has plenty of smart literary devices that help to elevate the story being told.

 Shadow may be symbolically beautiful and well-composed, but the plot of the movie is still incredibly difficult to follow. There are plenty of odd plot holes, characters with roles that don't entirely make sense, and it almost becomes difficult to comprehend how every character plays a role in this movie's story. It's clear that it's all a play for power and the Chinese throne, but viewers can become lost attempting to discover who's actually fighting for power. Furthermore, there are plenty of plot holes, or rather parts that aren't fully developed, that somewhat take away from what the director is trying to convey. It could potentially be due to a language barrier for those that don't speak Chinese, resulting in them solely reading the dialogue through subtitles, but the plot and story definitely leaves some to be desired, especially when the epic conclusion seems to undo all of the development that previously occurred. 

 Shadow may definitely not be for everyone, especially due to its unique storytelling methods that break boundaries, but it is certainly noteworthy in its own sense. The movie does feel far more complicated than most other adventures, mostly because of the repeated usage of familiar symbols and images that are thorough and creative, and the movie does have the ability to have a voice to explain some of the true lengths that people will go to for political power. Rotten Tomatoes did in fact give the movie an impressive 95%, so there is definitely enough apparent to warrant seeing the movie. While the movie is far from perfect, and certainly has a plot on the slower side, this still doesn't take away from the movie's visually stunning features and success in literally painting a story.