Shadow Force (2025) : Mr. & Mrs. Meh

Kyrah and Isaac 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7LhGytiHFM

Alright folks, saddle up. I just sat through Shadow Force, a movie that feels like it was spat out of the Hollywood AI blender set to “Tropes & Explosions.” And lemme tell you, it’s like watching Mr. & Mrs. Smith have a baby with Fast and the Furious, only the kid is raised by a committee of Netflix algorithms with attention deficit disorder and a thing for unsubtle sequel bait.

Let’s start with the basics. Shadow Force stars the ever-watchable Kerry Washington as Kyrah, and the effortlessly cool Omar Sy as Isaac—former leaders of a multinational special forces outfit that probably had more red tape and internal betrayals than a PTA meeting at Langley. These two lovebirds break the first rule of covert operations: don’t fall in love with your fellow super assassin. And if you do, definitely don’t have a child and go on the lam like you’re in a Jason Bourne fanfic.

Now, toss in the eternally bald and perpetually menacing Mark Strong as Jack Cinder—because if you need a villain with gravitas, a British accent, and a face that says “I’ve killed men for less,” Strong is your guy. Seriously, casting him as the heavy is like hiring Liam Neeson to play “concerned dad with a very particular set of skills”—it’s just baked into his DNA at this point.

There are things to like here. The action sequences, when not hijacked by CGI-induced vertigo or plot holes big enough to drive a tank through, are genuinely decent. Strong chews scenery like he’s got a side hustle in lumberjacking, and Kerry Washington commits to every punch, kick, and melodramatic line delivery like she’s auditioning for John Wick: Parent-Teacher Night.

The premise? Solid. Spy lovers go rogue to protect their kid? That’s good meat on the bone. The cast? Talented enough to make this more than a straight-to-streaming snoozefest. The script? Actually decent. So why did it flop harder than a fish in a microwave?

Well, let’s get into it.

First, and I say this as someone who barely passed high school French—can we pick a language and stick to it? I know we’re trying to make the world feel “global” and “authentic,” but when I have to read subtitles for half the movie, it starts feeling less like an action flick and more like a Duolingo fever dream.

Second, the Hollywood trope machine must be powered by pure estrogen these days, because once again, we’re served a heaping dose of “petite woman beats up ten trained male mercenaries without breaking a nail.” I get it—girl power, female leads, yada yada—but there’s suspension of disbelief and then there’s watching Kerry Washington toss a dude twice her size through a window and thinking, “Okay, sure, maybe if gravity took a vacation.”

Now don’t get me wrong—Washington is a powerhouse actress. I’d watch her read a grocery list and still find it compelling. But can we at least make the fights believable? Maybe she wins with tactics, trickery, or a taser in the kidney. I’m not asking for a return to damsels in distress, just a nod to Newton’s laws of motion.

And speaking of motion—can we talk about the car chase? One minute we’re in a grounded spy thriller and the next we’re doing a full-blown Mad Max cosplay in a car chase scene so over-the-top it made Fast & Furious look like a documentary on traffic school. Exploding semis, backflipping SUVs, and one suspiciously durable family minivan. All we were missing was Vin Diesel growling about family from the backseat.

By the time we hit the third act, I realized I’d seen this all before. Lovers on the run from their former employers. Secret agencies who all suck at catching two civilians with a child in tow. It’s Back in Action, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Safe House, and a dozen other movies all rolled into one well-shot, well-cast, and ultimately forgettable cinematic casserole.

And don’t think I didn’t notice the not-so-subtle setup for a sequel. There’s a lingering shot of a kid with “potential,” a villain who’s maybe not as dead as we thought, and enough loose threads to knit a sequel scarf. I half expected the credits to end with “Kyrah and Isaac will return in Shadow Force: The Next Slightly More Explosive Chapter.”

Look, I don’t hate this movie. It’s just disappointing. Like ordering a gourmet burger and getting something that tastes suspiciously like drive-thru, even though the lettuce is organic and the bun is artisanally smug. With a cast this good and a premise this rich, this should’ve been an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride. Instead, it’s a scenic jog on a treadmill set to “lukewarm.”

Final Verdict: 6.0/10. Good enough to finish, not good enough to remember. Like a decent first date where you smile, nod, and then forget their name on the Uber ride home.

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