Shadow Force - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Shadow Force



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
I can’t believe it. It’s a VERY rare thing when I rate a movie below 2.5 stars simply due to the fact that I don’t usually request that many movies that I don’t want to see. But to have not one, but TWO 1.5/5 rated films in one review week has to be some sort of record. But here we are, as we follow up Sex and the Emperor with 2025’s Shadow Force. I barely remember the movie coming out on Blu-ray last summer, but for some reason it vanished, like a fart in the wind, shortly after leaving theaters, and I didn’t remember it until I saw the 4K UHD announced a month or so ago. So out of morbid curiosity, I pulled the 4K disc to review without watching a SINGLE promotional bit of material. Effectively, I went in nearly as blind as I would have with a theatrical viewing over a year and a half ago, but only armed with this niggling fear that it wasn’t exactly going to light anything on fire.

Single father Issac Sarr (Omar Sy) is living with his son, Ky (Jahleel Kamara), in France, where things are going simply enough. His mother, Kyrah (Kerry Washington is out on assignment as a special ops wet work agent, and the two guys are making do while mommy is away. A random bank robbery allows Issac to pull out his own special ops training, effectively wiping the floor with the bad guys, with only one negative side effect. It reveals his location to men who have been hunting the small family for years. You see, Issac and Kyrah were once part of a U.S. government black ops group known as Shadow Force, whose main directive was to carry out all of the dirty little deeds that the government didn’t want to know about, under CIA operative (now Deputy Director) Jack Cinder (Mark Strong). But after realizing that Cinder was using Shadow Force for his own nefarious hits, Issac and Kyrah vanished into the night to start a family and leave that life behind.

Now with Cinder knowing EXACTLY where they are, he is not going to stop until he eliminates his defected agents, and NOTHING will stop him. Even if that means he has to bring in the rest of Shadow Force and double the $25 million bounty on each of their heads in an all-out war of special ops vs. special ops. Naturally, everyone is rooting for the family, but who can they trust? And the people that they do trust may not be enough to keep them alive before Cinder goes nuclear on them.

Shadow Force is beyond silly, devolving into what is a slightly higher budget than your average Stephen Seagal film. Just with slightly better choreography, but not by much. I’m a huge fan of slop-tier action movies, having grown up in the 80s and 90s when Cannon Films was pumping out some of the most glorious slop we had ever seen. But this is just BAD on all fronts. Acting is terrible, with Kerry Washington delivering her lines like she’s still in Scandal, and Mark Strong sleepwalking through this one as the scenery-chewing Cinder (I literally laughed out loud at the scene where he dared his own men to fight him). Fights are decently choreographed, but not amazingly so. The gunplay is horrific, with moves and techniques that are straight out of a 1980s B movie.

To make matters worse, this was on the tail end of the “girl boss” era of post-COVID movie-making, with actors like Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, and Daisy Ridley desperately headlining as rough-and-tumble special ops agents, who end up just looking bad and sounding annoying. I honestly wanted to slap Kyrah a half dozen times throughout the films as she belittles, badmouths, and generally peacocks around the screen whenever she and Issac are together. It’s not the end of the world, but it just feels “ugggg” every time they’re in the same scene together. About the only redeeming thing in this film is a few cool shots here and there, as well as Jahleel being absolutely adorable and a scene stealer (along with Method Man) whenever he came on screen.

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Rating: Rated R for violence and language throughout.




4K Video: Video:
According to what little information I could find, Shadow Force had a native 4K master, which meant that the 4K UHD is taken from said master, explaining why it looks so fantastic in 2160p. The Blu-ray from last year got great reviews, and this 4K UHD upgrade is no different. The Dolby Vision adds some depth to the darker shots, with the underground safe house showing the best benefits of said black levels, and the colors (such as the yellow toy that Jahleel carries with him in the bank) really do pop a good bit more without the HDR on. Fine details are generally good, though I did notice a few times where it was a teensy bit soft. Usually in a scene where optical effects were changing. But overall this is a nice-looking disc that should please just about everyone.


Audio:
Copied directly from last year’s Blu-ray, Lionsgate’s Dolby Atmos track is very much of the aggressive variety, using all of the speakers with great aplomb, and keeping the Decibel levels turned up most of the time. Dialog is crystal clear from the very get-go, but things kick off with a band once the bank robbery happens, and keep things amped up till the very end. There are moments of quiet introspection as the family huddles in the dark planning their next move, but after they leave the safe house the film doesn’t quiet down until the credits start rolling. And wow, is this a hot track. Surrounds are filled with bullets bouncing off every corner, the roar of speedboats as they race across the water, and the throbbing hum of an engine as the family makes a desperate race from the remaining Shadow Force members. Bass is deep and impactful, slamming the listener in the chest with some seriously beefy hits.


Extras:
• Shadow Force: Declassified: Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Joe Carnahan and Editor Kevin Hale
• Making Shadow Force: Ain't Nothing to F*** With
• International Waters: The Locations Behind Shadow Force
• Isla Gunfight: Final Battle Breakdown
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Shadow Force has the script of a Cannon Films flick from the 80s, a decent director (this is Joe’s first misstep in years), and a budget that SHOULD have made this a decent spy film. But instead it’s a bomb of epic proportions and something I’m glad I missed in theaters. The old saying of “I didn’t pay anything to see this movie, but I still want my money back!” comes to mind here. Luckily for us, Lionsgate’s 4K UHD looks and sounds good, with a native 4K encode for the video, the same extras as the Blu-ray, and the same stellar Atmos track from the Blu-ray as well. Fans of the movie (if there are any) will be happy with this package, but for the rest of you? I’d suggest skipping it entirely unless you’re bored and it’s on Netflix some Saturday.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Jahleel Kamara, Mark Strong, Method Man, Ed Quinn
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Written by: Leon Chills, Joe Carnahan
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French DD 5.1, English DVS 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 104 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 29th, 2026

Recommendation: Skip It