The Stream: The plot is unoriginal and predictable.

The Big Screen: Da’Vine Joy Randolph adds some much need spice to the movie.

The Final Bill: This action movie relies on a cliched premise and fails to add anything interesting

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Joe Carnahan
Writers: Joe Carnahan and Leon Chills
Stars: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Method Man, Jahleel Kamara
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Rating: R for violence and language throughout.
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Production Companies: Lionsgate, Made with Love Media, Media Capital Technologies
Platform: In theaters May 9, 2025
Notable Trailers: Jurassic World Rebirth, Hurry Up Tomorrow, Ballerina

What’s up, Streamers!?! It’s Mother’s Day weekend, so, of course, you want to take your mom to the movies to watch other moms kick butt and take names. Luckily, there’s a new action thriller that stars Kerry Washington doing just that. Yes, in Shadow Force, Kerry Washington and Omar Sy play, Kyrah and Isaac, assassins, who were formerly part of a secret program called Shadow Force. When, against the protocol of the program, Kyrah and Isaac fell in love and had a child, they absconded from Shadow Force and are now being hunted by their former colleagues. Kyrah and Isaac must band together to take out the remainder of the Shadow Force in order to save their 4-year-old son and have a normal life. Assassins-fighting-other-assassins hijinks ensue.

Shadow Force should have been a streaming movie. It is so mediocre I can barely muster up the energy to write a review of it. The plot of this movie is so unoriginal and predictable its only saving grace could be how it gets to its end. Unfortunately, there is nothing special about the way this movie is presented. The action isn’t that interesting. There is a car chase, a boat chase and some shoot-outs, but nothing to really get your blood flowing. It’s pretty rote overall. The script does nothing to make you care about the family or whether they survive this mess. I will say that Omar Sy is a nice presence on screen. He does bring some charm to his character – maybe it’s his speaking in French. He’s also believable as an action here. Kerry Washington is doing her Kerry Washington thing, so there’s that. Also, Da’Vine Joy Randolph gets some good lines here and there. She has a lot of scenes with Method Man, and they have some good chemistry; but their characters are pretty sidelined. Without Sy and Randolph, I don’t think there would be much to talk about here. Meh!

Ultimately, Shadow Force relies on an overused premise and doesn’t have any originality of its own. There are likeable actors in the cast, particularly Omar Sy and Da’Vine Joy Randolph; but, they don’t have enough to do to overcome the predictable plot. The action is fine, but not above anything you can’t already see in a run-of-the-mill streaming movie. Only grab a handful of popcorn for this movie when it comes to a streaming service near you.