The Shadow Effect

Lame copycat of the Total Recall, Demolition man and the Clockwork Orange which substitutes screaming and running/driving for acting and plot. Absolutely dreadful movie which goes nowhere, your time is better spend watching the movies this one ripped off, or just doing anything else but. Avoid.

I liked this movie in many ways . The Atmosphere , The picture , The Music , The mysterious line of the movie that makes you wanna finish it no matter what the result is ,, I felt kinda like it's a video game

What I didn't like was the acting in many situations especially when it comes to action shots , although I liked the acting of the main characters ( Jonathan Rhys Meyers & Cam Gigandet ) in their dialogues they are doing a good job

The story line is good and thrilling but lacking something maybe more details or that's how I see it

Overall , This movie isn't bad and I really enjoyed it .. But It could have been something way better if you fill those missing parts

My rating 6.5/10

This film obviously has a limited budget, but it's biggest handicap is limited imagination and innovation.

These actors are given nothing to work with but scraps from other action films. The quiet stretches are the strongest parts of the film, and they're not strong.

The real weakness is when action scenes are shot and it's obvious only one take was in the budget.

The scene between Rhys-Meyers and Gigandet at the conference table sounds like bad adult film dialogue. I'm guessing this entire film was shot with one take per scene.

JRM looks ridiculous. The script and writing are bad.

This is an action movie with almost no action sequences, but a nicely mature Cam Gigandet is our hero and he is filmed shirtless making love, freaking out, hugging a toilet, being brainwashed. Good butt shots as well.

There is a weird, hard to follow, scifi resurrection plot.

Cam's acting is not bad. JRM acting accent hair is rather atrocious, but it looks like his scenes were shot in 1-2 days.

This was shot in Atlanta GA and has state tax credits written all over it. "We call them shadows, but yes they are ____."

Watch it for Cam's butt and chest and overall attractiveness. Howl with laughter for everything else.

The Shadow Effect suffers from a very weak script. Ideas seem plundered wholesale from other movies where they were executed much more effectively, including The 6th Day, The Manchurian Candidate, A Clockwork Orange, Edge of Tomorrow, Total Recall, The Bride and Universal Soldier. The derivative nature of key plot elements could be forgiven, if they were presented with some sort of original twist or insight which is sadly lacking here. The production was clearly limited by a modest budget, estimated at $4MM; however, some very good films have been done with comparably limited budgets, such as Lone Star and Dinner Rush. The difference is creativity. Plot elements that are not shamelessly misappropriated seem contrived. Some elements are simply missing, such as the lack of response by the FBI, DHS and BAFT, motivation, character arcs and theme.

The producers assembled a capable cast and secured a wonderfully rustic cabin in the woods as a location for several key scenes. However, one character is heavily tattooed, which makes no sense relative to a key element in the plot, and it's difficult to imagine how the owner-operators of a rural café with only one employee and not many customers can afford such a home. By contrast, a secret laboratory that would seem to require antiseptic conditions is located in a dingy industrial setting.

However, a DTV potboiler doesn't need to be cerebral, provided it delivers the genre basics: fight scenes, chases, gunplay, explosions and sex. The gunplay is a bit hit-or-miss with a few good scenes and shots, but a lot of weapons brandished without being fired and not many impacts. CGI explosions are pretty decent. A car chase and crash is done well for a film of this caliber, but a character steals what seems to be a souped-up vehicle but doesn't drive it. The fight choreography is clumsy. The sex and nudity are self-conscious, although integral to the plot.

Whereas similar efforts hobble along with very little plot and a lot of eye candy, TSE offers a lot of plot, but very little eye candy. However, the plot is largely incoherent and derivative and not sufficiently engaging to bridge the gaps between the visuals.