Movie Review: ‘Shadow Force’ | Moviefone

‘Shadow Force’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Opening in theaters on May 9th is the new action thriller ‘Shadow Force’, which was directed by ‘The A-Team’s Joe Carnahan, and stars Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

Initial Thoughts

Pulling inspiration from ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ and the Roger Moore era James Bond movies, ‘Shadow Force’ is an entertaining enough action movie but struggles with cliché villains and a complicated third act that will leave viewers slightly puzzled.

Director Joe Carnahan has crafted some unique action sequences that are really the highlight of the movie, while Kerry Washington and Omar Sy give strong performances that help to try and create the heart of the film. But in the end the film fails to establish a cohesive story and the action, and the lead performances are not enough to overcome the script’s shortcomings.

Story and Direction

The movie begins by introducing us to Isaac Sarr (Sy), a former member of s special forces group called Shadow Force, raising his young son Ky (Jahleel Kamara) in hiding. Ky’s mother, Kyrah Owens (Washington) is also a former member of Shadow Force, and the two broke ties with the group after they fell in love and she became pregnant with Ky, which was forbidden by the group’s leader, Jack Cinder (Strong). Kyrah has since gone underground to protect Isaac and Ky, so that she can confuse Cinder and keep her family safe.

Trouble begins when Isaac, who has hearing loss, protects Ky during an unexpected bank robbery, and Cinder becomes aware of their location, sending the remaining members of Shadow Force to eliminate Isaac and Ky. This leads Kyrah no choice but to step out of the shadows and return to protect her family, reuniting for the first time with Ky since he was born.

Meanwhile, Isaac and Kyrah’s former colleagues Auntie Clanter ( Randolph) and Marcus “Unc” Owens (Smith) are also on their trail, but do they want to help Kyrah and her family, or are they working for Cinder? What follows is a cat and mouse game that ends in a showdown between Kyrah and Cinder where all the characters’ true intentions are revealed.

With films like ‘Smokin’ Aces’, ‘The Grey’, ‘The A-Team’, and ‘Boss Level’ under his belt, Joe Carnahan has established himself as one of the best action directors working today, but except for ‘Smokin’ Aces’, Carnahan’s films usually fall apart in the third act and only feature flashy characters and great action sequences. Unfortunately, ‘Shadow Force’ is no different.

However, the movie is worth seeing for the director’s unique take on a bank robbery, as well as a chase sequence involving massive trucks, and the film’s final set piece, a very impressive boat chase. Co-written by Carnahan and screenwriter Leon Chills, you can tell that Chills original script was more of a character-driven story and that Carnahan’s contributions included the action sequences and the supporting characters and villains, that are not as fleshed out as the two main characters.

While it would have been a completely different movie, it would have been interesting to see Chills’ original screenplay produced, which would have focused more on the relationship between Kyrah and Isaac, and less of the convoluted spy thriller plot and the generic villains. Although Carnahan’s chaotic shooting style lends itself well to some of his past films, it does become a burden here, but his choice to tie the movie’s music, several beloved Lionel Richie songs, to the core plot works surprisingly well.

Cast and Performances

With the film drawing so heavily from ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, it’s interesting to note that Kerry Washington was in that movie, but except for that, has not had a chance to do a lot of action in the past. Much like watching Viola Davis fight terrorists in the recent ‘Die Hard’ inspired ‘G20’, it was refreshing to see an actress of Washington’s caliber take on a role like this. But while she is strong in the action sequences, it’s the scenes when she’s with Sy, and especially reuniting with her son, where Washington shines the most.

While American audiences might not be as familiar with Omar Sy’s work as European audiences are thanks to the French series ‘Lupin’, he did excel in last year’s action movie ‘The Killer’, which was directed by the legendary John Woo. Sy is again great here, especially in the action sequences and has a very strong presence on screen. I also loved the way his character’s hearing loss is treated like a superpower (Not unlike Marvel’s Daredevil character who is name dropped in the film) and not a disability.

Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Cliff “Method Man” Smith add a good amount of humor to the film, but their characters are not given a lot to do, and the guessing game of their true intentions becomes trying by the film’s end. But Smith does have a funny moment with Jahlell Kamara, when Ky references the Wu-Tang Clan and Method Man breaks the fourth wall (He is a founding member of the seminal hip hop group in real life) after hearing the comment.

But the weak point of the movie is by far Mark Strong’s performance, as well as the rest of the very forgettable Shadow Force members. Strong, who is typically a very good actor, is clearly phoning this performance in for a paycheck and it shows. To be fair, the character is underwritten to begin with, but Strong does nothing to elevate Cinder from a typical mustache-twirling Bond villain.

Final Thoughts

‘Shadow Force’ is a flawed but still fun movie with some great action sequences and good performances from Washington and Sy but falls flat by the end. Carnahan’s vibey direction, the incredible set pieces, the Lionel Richie music and the main characters’ love story is not enough to make this a “rush out to the theaters to see it” movie. But I think it does have enough excitement to hold your attention on a Saturday afternoon once it is available to stream.