‘Shadow Force' movie review: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy flounder in sluggish actioner

The Hindu

09-05-2025

A man, Isaac, (Omar Sy) and his super cute son, Ky (Jahleel Kamara) get ready for bed. The boy asks his father whether 'bad men' gave him the bullet scars on his back. Ky falls into a dreamless sleep, confident his father will protect him. The next day the two head out to the bank while listening to a Lionel Ritchie song, which we learn later is special to them.
At the bank, while Isaac is quietly going about his business, masked men hold up the bank. Even then Isaac just wants to melt into the shadows and let the heist proceed. Unfortunately one of the bank robbers threatens Ky and that is the cue for Isaac to burst into action. After he efficiently dispatches the low-rent criminals, communication wires spark across the globe as the security camera footage showing Isaac decimating the bank robbers is spread far and wide.
Shadow Force (English)
Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Method Man Smith
Runtime: 104 minutes
Storyline: A couple who were elite operatives in their past lives are on the run with their son against a bunch of bad guys
A shadowy sniper sees it as well as Jack Cinder (Mark Strong) who is chilling by the pool in Mexico, while his beautiful Rottweilers run about wagging their tails. We learn that Cinder put together an elite crew, Shadow Force, who did the dirty work for the government who wished to keep its hands clean. Isaac was a part of Shadow Force, but when he fell in love with a colleague, Kyrah, (Kerry Washington), which was against the rules, the two decided to leave Shadow Force.
The two split up, with Isaac and Ky keeping a low profile while Kyrah hunts down the rest of the Shadow Force who have been offered a jolly bounty for Isaac and Kyrah — that is what she is doing in the shadows with her sniper rifle when she sees Isaac getting rid of the bank robbers. There are also US government officials, Auntie (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) and Uncle (Method Man) on Cinder's trail.
Fights break out with monotonous regularity, which no amount of blazing bullets and flying kicks can elevate. There is a distracting lack of logic that makes watching Shadow Force as annoying as grit in the eye.
As the bullets fly, you wonder why do all the goons have currency in their backpacks, or why did Cinder change his shirt and remove the Kevlar vest in the midst of a fire fight, even though the shirt he changed into is a nice one and how for a highly trained sniper, Kyrah makes basic mistakes.
Randolph gets the few funny lines while Strong narrows his eyes to show he is a cruel person. Sy and Washington float about aimlessly. The only redeeming factor is the locations in Colombia, including Medellín, Cali, Bogota and Cartagena. And to think this film was inspired by Mr. & Mrs. Smith!
Shadow Force is currently running in theatres