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.

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.

Former covert assassins on the run, fighting to eliminate those who won't let them live in peace.

I'm all in for a group of villainous assassins, and professional mercs! But here, most of these characters don't even have personalities.. much less memorable quirks. The leads work for their respective roles, but aren't particularly charismatic. I do think there's just too much French (for some reason), and the developments aren't particularly exciting. Nothing jumps out, nor stays with you.

Still, the film is quite competent, and a well acted and executed story of elements already done in the past.. a lot. This time, there's a child involved in the mix.

Kind of hard to recommend, knowing how average it is.

Its bad.

Its really bad I didn't like the actors.

The script was bad.

The directing was bad.

Who in this reality would release this to real theatres. It is not even good enough for online.

Most of the action scenes were off camera until that last one.

It had silly scenes, like Kerry Washington getting in a punching/slug match with 2 people, she is 50 years, while 90% of it was off camera, it was still silly. I can only imagine how bad it looked that they only showed the back of her head for a few minutes of it bouncing around.

Even the opening scene, somehow our unarmed main action star takes out a roomful of people with automatic weapons, because he is just that tough. Well I assume he did because they are all dead, and he walks away but it was all off camera so hard to tell.