Shadow Force

Director Joe Carnahan opts for an action thriller that seeks to find its own path, which ends up being a much more serious film than it should be and becomes a very uncharismatic film, despite the good attempts of the cast to float everything.

The survival of this family of mercenaries has some good moments that largely keep the film afloat. However, we're left with a rather glaring lack of action, replaced by drama that's far more overused than the story really needed. Leading duo Kerry Washington and Omar Sy do a great job at this point, giving their all to their characters, and we as viewers can feel for them.

Then we have a group of supporting characters who have their moments, but don't really stand out. The same goes for the villain of the film, who, while he has his moments, doesn't feel as rounded as one would like.

The reality is that we're faced with a film that doesn't offer much new, and with that, we don't find anything that makes it stand out from other similar films. It has a cast that's engaged, but it's completely wasted. It has a story that didn't need to be so serious when it came to presenting us with the emotional depths of its protagonists, and in the end, we're left with a film that works as a momentary diversion. For those who enjoy this style of film, for those looking for something much more revolutionary, the truth is that Shadow Force falls far short of all that.

Wow. This is bad. This is really, really bad.

Writing? Bad. Acting? Really bad.

This... movie...has reduced my ability to form complete sentences.

Did I mention this movie is really bad?

Maybe waterboarding is worse? Or an IRS tax audit?

But wait, maybe there's a silver lining. If 60 MILLION dollars can be wasted on a (say it with me, church) really bad movie, maybe I can have a career in Hollywood.

I can't act. But apparently, neither can Kerry Washington.

I didn't notice how bad an actor she was before now. Mainly because she was surrounded by more talented actors in her other projects.

Please don't see this movie.

Revised Critique:

"This film is a staggering disappointment-a haphazard collage of clichés with no discernible vision or originality. From its wooden, over-the-top performances to its lifeless, predictable plot, it reeks of amateurish execution, more akin to a rough draft than a finished product. The story plods along with zero tension or surprises, anchored by dialogue so stilted it borders on self-parody. What a waste of Sy's talent, shackled here to a script devoid of depth or nuance!

Even the antagonist feels lifted from a 1980s Saturday morning cartoon-complete with bald man twirling theatrics and a script so hackneyed you half-expect him to growl "Well, well, well..." before monologuing about worldly revenge. The gratuitous multilingual flourishes add nothing but confusion, further exposing the film's tonal inconsistency.

Releasing this alongside Thunderbolts * (Marvel's New Avengers ) only magnifies its flaws all the way to its PR.

Every element-from the clunky direction to the shockingly inept pacing-screams of a rushed, passionless production. It's a Frankenstein's monster of studio notes and market-driven cynicism, lacking even the charm of a so-bad-it's-good flick.

Some films stumble; this one faceplants. A masterclass in how not to make a movie-shallow, tedious, and utterly forgettable." When its sucks... its sucks.

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3/5 STARS - Is this going down as the best movie of 2025? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes, despite its flaws. I liked the story and the characters, though at least one actor (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) was terribly miscast. Shadow Force tells the story of a married couple on the run from the secret agency they'd worked for and then escaped from. Now they're being hunted by the leader of the agency (played by Mark Strong). There's action, heartwarming moments, romance, and a touch of comedy. It doesn't break the mold, but it was a fun watch and the audience I was with seemed to enjoy it a lot. I'm happy it was something I could walk away from not feeling angry or hugely disappointed. Maybe it helped that I went into it with rather low expectations (based on the film's generic, uninspiring trailer). And maybe it also helped that it was directed by Joe Carnahan (Boss Level, The A-Team and other films I've liked a lot). Video review available on my YouTube channel.

There are some good ideas floating around in SHADOW FORCE, and the film has its laudable moments. However, the plot is a barely-comprehensible mess, and the action scenes are often poorly-staged. Jahleel Kamara is the standout performance of the film, and all scenes with him work better than the others. This film feels like it was sabotaged by a production problem (running out of money, argument over final cut, footage lost, cast member becoming ill, or something similar) that necessitated cobbling together something perhaps different from what was intended. It might also be something cobbled together to fit business needs (Colombian production incentives, career goals of Kerry Washington, Da'Vine, Method Man), but the end result feels compromised and unworthy of an audience's time.