It’s funny, for weeks I thought the latest Mr. & Mrs. Smith-esque actioner, Shadow Force, was a streaming release because, frankly, every trailer made it look like one. It just didn’t seem to have the juice of a major studio film, and that’s nothing to say about its wonderful lead duo of Kerry Washington and Omar Sy. There’s a genuine joy that I felt watching these two amazing Black actors, who are rarely on the big screen here and should be more often, in the type of movie that seems reserved for bigger stars in keeping with the establishing Jolie/Pitt dynamic. Well, Shadow Force is definitely a theatrical release that should’ve been on streaming, but it’s not without its charms, mainly the passionate chemistry between Washington and Sy as former elite operatives and lovers on the run to protect their little family.
Washington and Sy star as Kyrah and Isaac, respectively, operatives in a shadowy organization run by then-CIA chief Jack Cinder (Mark Strong, doing Mark Strong things) to fight bad guys around the world. There’s just one rule to being part of the group, and it’s that nobody ever leaves. However, when Kyrah and Isaac fall in love, get married, and have a son, Ky (Jahleel Kamara), they flee to start a new life. But years later, Cinder is a big-shot with the G7 and he needs to find the AWOL pair and snuff them out because, naturally, they know too much. There’s some personal petty shit in there, too, because they broke the rules and…well, Cinder’s also a possessive ex-boyfriend who can’t let her go.
It’s maybe not fair to compare Shadow Force completely to Mr. & Mrs. Smith, because it goes in a considerably different direction early on. Kyrah actually left the family and has been single-handedly taking out Cinder’s goons on her own, in an effort to protect Isaac and Ky. Dear old Dad has his 5-year-old boy listening to Lionel Ritchie tunes (poor kid) and wondering about his mom’s whereabouts. But when Isaac’s cover is blown during a bank robbery that threatens Ky’s life, Kyrah must rejoin the fam so they can fight together.
That Shadow Force relies on a lot of marital actioner cliches isn’t a problem. I’ve said many times that being predictable and familiar is fine and even comforting in some ways. That’s especially true when you’ve got a duo like Washington and Sy, who are more effective in their roles because we don’t see them as natural action stars. It’s as important for this film that we see Kyrah and Isaac as parents as much as we see them as killers, so the casting is pretty much perfect.
The problem with Shadow Force is that it’s a pretty weak showing for director Joe Carnahan, who can deliver intense, gritty thrillers with an epitome of style when he wants to. With its bland color scheme and generic action, it looks like a McG movie, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. Even as the story jumps around the globe, it never captures the larger-than-life international feel of bigger spy movies.
While most of the baddies chasing them down are forgettable mercs with little personality, Strong at least seems to realize what kind of movie he’s in. Strong has played so many loud, bullying tough-guy bosses that he can do it in his sleep. He’s a nice contrast to Washington and Sy, who have to balance a certain amount of sweetness to their portrayals as protective parents and top-shelf assassins. The scenes where Kyrah, Isaac, and Ky reconnect are gentle and endearing, and while I personally found the kid to be annoying (to be fair, most child actors are), your average moviegoer will probably be fine with him and his lousy singing.
A bit more showy are Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Method Man as Auntie and Unc, old CIA pals of Kyrah and Isaac who are also tracking Cinder. Randolph makes for a convincingly intimidating bruiser, while Method Man gets a decent laugh referencing his Wu-Tang cred.
There’s just so much more that Shadow Force could’ve been given the tools at its disposal. A pair of charismatic Black actors playing a family literally fighting to stay together against a corrupt government’s fury, it deserves to be more than just a solid action movie. You could find worse ways to spend 100 minutes, but it might be best to wait and enlist in Shadow Force when it’s available to watch at home.
Shadow Force is in theaters now via Lionsgate.
