SHADOW FORCE (2025)

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong, Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 1 May 2025

Synopsis: In SHADOW FORCE, Kyrah (Washington) and Isaac (Sy) were once the leaders of a multinational special forces group called Shadow Force. They broke the rules by falling in love, and in order to protect their son, they go underground. With a large bounty on their heads, and the vengeful Shadow Force hot on their trail, one family’s fight becomes all-out war..

Movie Review:

We love Omar Sy as Lupin, but we cannot say the same about his latest outing as former special forces agent Isaac Sarr. Likewise, as fine an actress Kerry Washington may be, we cannot say that we enjoyed her unlikely turn as another former special forces agent Kyrah Owens.

As the setup goes, both Isaac and Kyrah were once heads of a covert group known as ‘Shadow Force’ led by the egoistic and duplicitous Jack Cinder (Mark Strong); unfortunately, after falling in love with each other and having a kid together, they decided to violate the oath they had given to Jack and go underground instead. And to protect her young son Ky (Jahleel Kamara), Kyrah decided to estrange herself from Isaac and Ky, while protecting them from a distance.

Seeing Washington try to inject poignancy into Kyrah’s sacrifice for her husband and son makes it clear why she decided to acquire the original script by Leon Chills through her production company; and with veteran genre specialist Joe Carnahan on board, it must have seemed like ‘Shadow Force’ could be a high-octane thriller with sentiment. Alas, notwithstanding the pedigree, it is dull, uninvolving and even frustrating.

Right from the start, you get the nagging sense that the titular special forces group never counts for anything much. There is little clue what their missions were; no sense of the camaraderie between them; or for that matter, the betrayal their teammates felt when Isaac and Kyrah up and left in order to pursue their own lives. Not only are these ‘shadow force’ members largely inconsequential, the odd couple that are given more emphasis – Marcus ‘Unc’ Owens (Method Man) and Auntie Clanter (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) – are just thoroughly unconvincing as special forces agents.

There is also the lack of chemistry between Sy and Washington, which undermines whatever connection their characters are supposed to have. As much as we respect Carnahan for not simply replicating a ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ dynamic between them, it is also not clear what exactly he is trying to achieve – and no, just a shared love for Lionel Ritchie ballads will not do. What’s worse, in the absence of any real depth between them, Washington’s weepiness over her sacrifice comes off grating.

It doesn’t help that neither Sy or Washington are well versed in action – as much as you can see how they try to do their own stunts, it is frankly unimpressive, and to some extent, even embarrassing. That, and Carnahan’s uninspired action choreography, just about takes away any guilty pleasure action fans would no doubt be looking forward to. It’s obvious Carnahan is operating on a much more constrained budget compared to say ‘The A-Team’, but that doesn’t excuse how boring the gunplay, hand-to-hand combat or explosions turn out onscreen.

Simply put, ‘Shadow Force’ fails even as a simple genre exercise; and given so, it would be better for Sy, Washington and their fans if this ignominy faded away sooner than later. Amidst a summer of welcome surprises – we’re counting ‘Sinners’ and ‘Thunderbolts*/ The New Avengers’ – this lacklustre outing is even more disappointing, so like we said, it’s better for your sake that you leave this to disappear into the shadows.

Movie Rating:

(Dull in almost every respect, whether in terms of action, plotting or character work, this poor excuse of an action thriller deserves to be left in the shadows)

Review by Gabriel Chong