An assassin befriends a young boy and must save him from a politician and his crazy son. But this also means her assassin organization will come looking for her.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the reason the Mo brothers were successful is because of Timo Tjahjanto. Since they split up, Kimo Stamboel has only made some mediocre horror movies, while Timo Tjahjanto has created one of the best action movies ever made, The Night Comes for Us. He’s also made a solid movie like The Big 4, though he doesn’t release movies as frequently as Kimo Stamboel. Clearly, the one with the most talent is Timo Tjahjanto.
The story in The Shadow Strays is weak, but that’s fine—The Night Comes for Us had a weak story too. We’re here for the action scenes. The actors in this movie are unknown to me so you won’t see Iko Uwais or Joe Taslim in The Shadow Strays.
The actress who plays the protagonist is pretty good, though she overacts when she “hulks up,” stomping around like the Hulk. That made me laugh. She also channels an angry Michelle Rodriguez vibe.
The movie is too long, especially in the first hour when we get to know the characters. You won’t care about them, as they lack any real depth. The only character you feel sympathy for is the young kid.
I’m watching the movie for hard-hitting action scenes, and my God, this is one hard-hitting, crazy action-horror movie. I realized while watching The Shadow Strays that the director isn’t just making action movies—he’s making action-horror movies. The Shadow Strays is crazily violent, even more so than The Night Comes for Us, which is one of my favorite action movies.
However, I don’t appreciate the CGI blood. There are too many scenes with CGI blood and some dodgy effects. But after a while, you forget about it because the cinematography and score are so good that the movie pulls you in—if you’re into insane, hard-hitting action scenes from the deepest pits of hell. It’s such a gory movie.
But is it as good as The Night Comes for Us? No, it’s not. The Night Comes for Us has so many cool characters and is just tighter overall, with better actors and martial artists.
Some of the actors in The Shadow Strays are awful, especially the giant man—he’s a nightmare when he talks. I also wasn’t a fan of the politician’s son, who is portrayed as a gimp. He wasn’t scary at all and looked more like a confused wrestler.
The story is terrible in The Night Comes for Us too, but it has a big advantage: it’s shorter, and the close combat scenes are better shot and choreographed, thanks to actors like Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim.
If you look closely at the showdown between the protagonist and her instructor in The Shadow Strays, you can see it’s trying to create the same wild energy as the showdown in The Night Comes for Us. But here, the showdown is way too long—it drags so much that it becomes boring, and I wasn’t impressed by the choreography or the way it was shot.
The Shadow Strays is the most hard-hitting and crazy action movie of 2024, I’m sure of that. If you like the energy of The Night Comes for Us, you should check it out. But don’t expect it to be as good as that action classic.