REVIEW: Joe Carnahan‘s name really used to mean something in the action space. And I’d argue that he still does to some extent (with a ton of anticipation for his recently wrapped Affleck/Damon flick RIP). And I love that Kerry Washington is getting into the world of guns and mayhem. Sadly, their latest film, Shadow Force, fails to get me excited for either’s output in the genre, as it’s a pale retread of better films.

I was shocked by how much of Shadow Force consists of characters simply talking. When the whole plot is “former shadow ops are hunted down by their former team/employer” you expect a lot more action. But instead, this is more of a family drama, with a lot of focus being put on Washington, Kerry Washington‘s Issac, and their son Ky. That’s not inherently a bad thing, and there are some fun moments there, like their love for Lionel Richie. It just means the action moments need to really hit hard the few times that they do. Instead, it all feels so pedestrian. And it doesn’t help that, with how generic the story is, it all just feels like a retread of something we’ve seen time and time again.

I would blame the budget, but we’ve seen some great films on the smaller end of the scale put up some awesome action set pieces. And with Carnahan at the helm, I expected a lot. But there are such long stretches, with the few bits of action that happen being cut around, and/or over in a flash. The only part that really gets some time to breathe is the finale. Just don’t expect a ton of creativity. This is about as meat and potatoes as you can expect when it comes to action beats. There are a ton of cuts, and they’re constantly having to hide hits. This just doesn’t cut it in 2025. I guess the one positive is that it’s mostly done practically and in camera. In a genre that’s filled with greenscreen and bad CGI, that has to be commended.

The biggest problem with Shadow Force is that Kyrah Owen is a very poorly written action lead. She is constantly making herself look like an idiot by not taking action and allowing bad guys to get the jump on her. Once would be forgivable, but it got to the point of parody. She just seemed entirely incapable of doing cool spy shit. Which is such a disservice to Kerry Washington, who is doing her damndest. But the film is constantly trying its best to make Kyrah look like an idiot, resulting in even her triumphs landing with a thud. Meanwhile, Isaac’s big character development is that he thought he lost a step with his shooting, but he’s actually still a great shot. What a journey.

I really enjoyed Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who gives the film a bit of life. I’ll always love these “ride or die” type characters, and she fits the role well. And her pairing with Method Man works well. But it’s getting to the point where I feel like films need to stop having Mark Strong as their bad guy. It’s just too obvious, and he doesn’t stray far from his usual schtick. He’s too good of an actor to be typecast into such a basic villain role. His obsession with Kyrah feels underdeveloped and more like they threw it in last minute. I expected there to be a bit more personality amongst the slew of assassins, but they’re all practically faceless/nameless. Feels like such a wasted opportunity.

I found myself completely unable to get invested in Shadow Force. All I really wanted was some fun action, but those few moments are so abbreviated that I struggle to even call this an action movie. Your film really lives and dies on your lead, and they just made Kyrah too inept at even the most basic of action hero qualities. They try a Mr. and Mrs. Smith bit with the spy couple, but it just does not work in any way, as there’s no heat between them. This feels like a classic tale of too many cooks in the kitchen, resulting in little focus or purpose.

SHADOW FORCE IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON MAY 9TH, 2025.

Shadow Force

NOT GOOD

4

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Special forces agencies should always know never to mess with the families of former agents. Joe Carnahan, who has brought us films like Narc, Smokin’ Aces, The Grey, The A-Team and the upcoming RIP, directs a new action film that he penned with Leon Chills called Shadow Force. The movie brings us a couple with a particular set of skills and is played by Kerry Washington and Omar Sy. The cast also includes Mark Strong, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Cliff “Method Man” Smith. The trailer just dropped from Lionsgate.

The official synopsis reads,
“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.

Lionsgate presents, in association with Media Capital Technologies, a Made with Love / Simpson Street / Indian Meadows production.”

Shadow Force is produced by Kerry Washington, p.g.a., Pilar Savone, p.g.a., Stephen “Dr.” Love, p.g.a. and Sterling K. Brown. Our Chris Bumbray got to see a bit of the film promoted at last year’s CinemaCon during the Lionsgate panel and he said it’s “another cool looking action flick in the John Wick vein.“

Sy will also head up a spin-off of Extraction with Mercenary. The spin-off, which will be a streaming series, as opposed to a film, will follow Sy as “a mercenary as he navigates a dangerous mission to rescue hostages in Libya. Trapped between warring factions and ruthless killers, the series delves into the emotional struggles of conflicted and flawed characters, each facing trauma, betrayal, and life-or-death choices.”

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Lionsgate had a whole lot of interesting projects to promote at CinemaCon today. Alexandre Aja’s Never Let Go, The Crow remake, the Margot Robbie-produced Monopoly, Guy Ritchie’s In the Grey and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Highlander, Borderlands, a Blumhouse reimagining of The Blair Witch Project, the John Wick spin-off Ballerina, the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, they all got a moment in the spotlight in one way or another. And that’s far from the complete list. Attendees also got to see trailers and previews of multiple other films, and we’ve got a bit of a round-up compiled below.

The Killer’s Game: An action comedy directed by stuntman J.J. Perry and starring Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley. Based on Jay Bonansinga’s novel, The Killer’s Game follows a veteran assassin (Bautista), who is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and authorizes a hit on himself to avoid the pain that is destined to follow. But soon after, he finds out that he was misdiagnosed— and must fend off an army of former colleagues trying to kill him. A trailer for this film was shown during the panel, and JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray reports that “The person in charge of the contract is Pom Klementieff, who hates Bautista because he killed her father and she calls in all the assassins in Europe to kill him. Looks like a hardcore, R-rated action flick and might be Bautista’s John Wick.“

Flight Risk: A “very slick action thriller” directed by Mel Gibson and starring Mark Wahlberg. CinemaCon attendees got to see a trailer for this one, and Bumbray writes that it “seems commercial. Michelle Dockery is a US Marshal flying a witness (Topher Grace) to testify against the mob, but the pilot of the plane is a psychopathic hit man played by Mark Wahlberg playing WAY against type. He even shaved his head to look like he has a bald pate. Looks like a really tight kickass thriller, and Gibson REALLY makes Walhberg look crazy in this. Scored by a cover of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer.’“

Also promoted was director Joe Carnahan’s Shadow Force, which is about “an estranged couple with a bounty on their heads who must go on the run with their son to avoid their former employer, a shadow ops unit sent to kill them.” The film stars Kerry Washington and Omar Sy, and Bumbray said it’s “another cool looking action flick in the John Wick vein.“

A trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 1 was shown, but it may have been the same trailer we’ve already seen online. Directed by Renny Harlin and shot simultaneously with two sequels (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3), The Strangers: Chapter 1 centers on a character played by Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) as she drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend (Gutierrez) to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest. When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers. Lionsgate plans from there to expanding the story in new and unexpected ways with its sequels. JoBlo’s own Lance Vlcek, who attended the panel with Bumbray, reports that these films are being sold as “an origin story of how the Strangers came to be.“

Another trailer shown during the panel was for the comedy Good Fortune, which was directed by Aziz Ansari – who also stars in the film alongside Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves. Bumbray reports, “Ansari is a broke guy who goes to work for a rich asshole, played by Rogen. Reeves plays an angel! Even has wings. He’s a f*ck-up angel who wants to save Ansari from killing himself. So what he does is he swaps Ansari and Rogen’s lives. But, Reeves thinks Ansari will realize ‘wealth won’t solve his problems’ but Ansari loves being rich and won’t go back to where he was before. The idea backfires so much it costs Reeves his wings, so now the three guys, Rogen, Ansari and Reeves are all stuck together. Looks hilarious and might become a HUGE hit. Reeves is really hilarious in it.” After the trailer was shown, Ansari took the stage. He said he “hates that comedies are no longer going to theaters. So he wanted to prove you could make a big comedy with stars that will be hit. He wanted it to be in the vein of big comedies like Anchorman and 40 Year Old Virgin. Keanu – the man Chad Stahelski couldn’t break while making the John Wick movies – actually broke his knee by tripping on a run in his dressing room. He did the whole movie with a broken knee but you can’t tell. He wanted to do everything and just plowed through.“

What do you think of the Lionsgate line-up that was promoted at CinemaCon? Which of these movies are you looking forward to? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Lupin actor Omar Sy will co-star alongside Kerry Washington (Scandal) in Shadow Force, an upcoming action-thriller from director Joe Carnahan. The plot focuses on an estranged couple with a bounty on their heads who must go on the run with their son to avoid their former employer, a shadow ops unit sent to kill them.

Carnahan co-wrote the screenplay with Leon Chills. Stephen “Dr.” Love is producing Shadow Force through Made with Love Media. Washington and Pilar Savone produce through Washington’s Simpson Street label and Sterling K. Brown through his Indian Meadows Productions. Kathy Atkinson, Danielle Reardon, and Jennifer Wiley-Stockton executive produce.

Sy recently wrapped on Jurassic World: Dominion, in which he plays Velociraptor trainer Barry Sembène. As for Washington, she recently completed work on Netflix’s The School of Good and Evil from director Paul Feig. The plot revolves around a group of boys and girls who are taken to an institution where they are trained to become fairytale-like heroes and villains. The School of Good and Evil also stars Michelle Yeoh, Charlize Theron, Laurence Fishburne, and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Carnahan’s last feature was the 2021 crime thriller Copshop. Starring Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo, Copshop tells the story of a con artist on the run from a lethal assassin.

Are you a Carnahan fan? Will you be looking forward to Shadow Force? Let us know in the comments section.

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