The Shadow Effect

I'm often amused at the jaded and self absorbed state of the average IMDB user. It's so often clear that they have allowed themselves to devolve (Sadly so) into near automatons that USE to be film lovers only now to be wanna be "critics", whom like that sad profession, have lost the ability to find satisfaction outside of a very limited scope of their own "Prefect drug". Almost as though once they've seen a masterpiece they cannot appreciate any other painting that cannot smile the same smile as the Mona Lisa they beheld. Or cannot find the same rush from that perfect HIT of whatever their drug of choice may have been.

This movie is perfectly fine, it is a low, but adequate, budget thriller with sci-fi elements about an assassin in the vein of the Manchurian Candidate where mind control is in question. Meyers and Gigandet are fine, as is the rest of the cast. The story is played and told well, with adequate doses of action, tension and wonderment as our protagonist begins to break his brainwash and seeks to discover who and what he is, who has created him and why. Not to mention what to do about it once he begins to break their holds on him and his own mental bonds., Gigandet makes nice eye candy and does a good job in his role, and Meyers does well in a role of his usual flavor...that being charming and deceptive, manipulative and usually on the wrong side of the villain fence.

In the end it s satisfying ride, a good time and nice little movie. It's not a masterpiece, and only a fool would go into thinking it was or even should be, it's not Citizen Kane. It's an action thriller. Get over yourselves and try to get some of your ability to have fun with film back.

This movie is much better than the avg 4 star given to it. Everything could've been done better, but it still keeps you wondering what is going on throughout the movie, and it ain't stupid or boring. Certainly worth watching if you like "dark" sci-fi. If you're only looking for mindless action - look elsewhere.

JRM looks ridiculous. The script and writing are bad.

This is an action movie with almost no action sequences, but a nicely mature Cam Gigandet is our hero and he is filmed shirtless making love, freaking out, hugging a toilet, being brainwashed. Good butt shots as well.

There is a weird, hard to follow, scifi resurrection plot.

Cam's acting is not bad. JRM acting accent hair is rather atrocious, but it looks like his scenes were shot in 1-2 days.

This was shot in Atlanta GA and has state tax credits written all over it. "We call them shadows, but yes they are ____."

Watch it for Cam's butt and chest and overall attractiveness. Howl with laughter for everything else.

The Shadow Effect suffers from a very weak script. Ideas seem plundered wholesale from other movies where they were executed much more effectively, including The 6th Day, The Manchurian Candidate, A Clockwork Orange, Edge of Tomorrow, Total Recall, The Bride and Universal Soldier. The derivative nature of key plot elements could be forgiven, if they were presented with some sort of original twist or insight which is sadly lacking here. The production was clearly limited by a modest budget, estimated at $4MM; however, some very good films have been done with comparably limited budgets, such as Lone Star and Dinner Rush. The difference is creativity. Plot elements that are not shamelessly misappropriated seem contrived. Some elements are simply missing, such as the lack of response by the FBI, DHS and BAFT, motivation, character arcs and theme.

The producers assembled a capable cast and secured a wonderfully rustic cabin in the woods as a location for several key scenes. However, one character is heavily tattooed, which makes no sense relative to a key element in the plot, and it's difficult to imagine how the owner-operators of a rural café with only one employee and not many customers can afford such a home. By contrast, a secret laboratory that would seem to require antiseptic conditions is located in a dingy industrial setting.

However, a DTV potboiler doesn't need to be cerebral, provided it delivers the genre basics: fight scenes, chases, gunplay, explosions and sex. The gunplay is a bit hit-or-miss with a few good scenes and shots, but a lot of weapons brandished without being fired and not many impacts. CGI explosions are pretty decent. A car chase and crash is done well for a film of this caliber, but a character steals what seems to be a souped-up vehicle but doesn't drive it. The fight choreography is clumsy. The sex and nudity are self-conscious, although integral to the plot.

Whereas similar efforts hobble along with very little plot and a lot of eye candy, TSE offers a lot of plot, but very little eye candy. However, the plot is largely incoherent and derivative and not sufficiently engaging to bridge the gaps between the visuals.

Lame copycat of the Total Recall, Demolition man and the Clockwork Orange which substitutes screaming and running/driving for acting and plot. Absolutely dreadful movie which goes nowhere, your time is better spend watching the movies this one ripped off, or just doing anything else but. Avoid.