The action genre has two kinds of fan-favorite sub-genre these days, and Lionsgate’s new film Shadow Force is looking to capitalize on both of them. One part blockbuster-sized action-comedy (like Bad Boys), one part ‘married-life vs. work-life’ actioner (like Mr. & Mrs. Smith), this new film comes from Joe Carnahan (who action fans know from Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team, and The Grey), with writer Leon Chills co-writing the script alongside Carnahan. Shadow Force carries the considerable endorsement of being produced by Emmy-winner Kerry Washington (Scandal) and Sterling K. Brown (Hulu’s Paradise, This Is Us), with Washington also starring in one of the lead roles, opposite French actor Omar Sy (Jurassic World, X-Men: Days of Future Past.
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The plot sees Washington and Sy starring as “Kyrah and Isaac,” who “were once the leaders of a multinational special forces group called ‘Shadow Force.’ They break 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.”
As stated, the action movie genre has narrowed into some select lanes, these days, so there are plenty of recent IPs (Black Bag, Amazon’s Citadel, and the Mr. & Mrs. Smith reboot all come to mind…) that play up the concept of couples caught between love and the dark obligations of espionage. The obvious selling point of Shadow Force are the names attached to it, and the clear goal the film has of appealing to a demographic that isn’t typically at the center of these types of films.
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Carnahan established his name as a director by delivering gritty action flicks featuring hard-edged protagonists – and that doesn’t look to have changed here. While American audiences may not be familiar with Sy, Kerry Washington is still a big draw as a headliner, and many fans will be excited to see her going full-action heroine after her recent starring role in Netflix’s WWII drama The Six Triple Eight.
Shadow Force Cast & Release Date
In addition to Kerry Washington and Omar Sy, Shadow Force co-stars rapper/actor Clifford “Method Man” Smith (Power Book II: Ghost, The Wire) and recent Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) as another couple of espionage experts who are friends with Washington and Sy’s characters. Mark Strong (The Penguin) plays the big bad (as he is wont to do) whose syndicate is gunning for “Kyrah and Isaac,” with lineup of other familiar faces (like Black Lightning‘s Marvin Jones III) also showing up for the showdown.
Shadow Force will be released in theaters on May 2nd.
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