Shadow Run (1998)

I love this movie so much

Great Film overall

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

While the man plot line of Shadow Run is Michael Caine's assignment from James Fox to steal a security van, the side-plot is much more interesting. Matthew Pochin, a young boy in a Catholic school, comes across a dead body in the beginning of the movie. Michael Caine approaches the boy and tells him to keep his mouth shut, but even though he was wearing a ski mask, there's no mistaking his accent. When Matthew sees him in town later, he recognizes him instantly.Even though the second lead in the film is a child, this is far from a family-friendly film. Michael Caine is pretty ruthless and the bodies start piling up pretty quickly. This wasn't my favorite of his performances, though, because he's written out as a pretty one-dimensional, cold killer. There's no underlying emotions that he shows the audience, as he does in Shiner, so if you're looking for a great Michael Caine performance, this isn't the movie to watch. Matthew Pochin is very likable, though, especially because he gets picked on at school so he's all alone except for the audience's support. All in all, it's a very tense movie, with the threat of violence as evident as the violence itself. If you like creepy movies, or crime films set in Catholic schools like Absolution or The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, you might like this better than I did.Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

We know why Michael Caine would take a roll in a piece of trash like this... This master actor has at least one huge folly. He is panic stricken whenever he is out of work, thinking that he'll never work again...so, he takes anything that comes along when he's finished with his last film. Sometimes it is shear garbage that comes along. It was fun watching the crew's reflections in Sir Michael's sunglasses. Didn't look like there were too many of them either. You sure this wasn't a student film. It sure looked like it. And I don't think they got a passing grade either! Bizarre production financing company too (maybe that's a clue to the cluelessness of it all). Some Industrial company. My guess is they supplied all the construction sites for free.

It took quite a while before I could figure out all of the pieces of this scheme and the people involved which I enjoy. I don't like to know everything within the first ten minutes. Caine plays a crook and somehow manages to get a local schoolboy involved in his scheme. Or the schoolboy decides to help Caine with his crime. Caine is a great actor. He is very believable as always. Good dialogue and other actors were very good (Caine's callgirl, School Headmaster and Professor). There aren't any hum-drum moments in this film. The excitement/suspense slowly keeps building up scene after scene. The gigantic church on the outskirts of town becomes the focal point of the heist becoming a success and at the last minute they have to shake it down so their plan won't fail. There's a lot of suspense and tense moments. Caine winds up being too ruthless for my tastes and the ending kind of fell short for me. But it's worth a look.

This really wouldn't look out of place as a student film. Leaden script, poor acting and a plot that never really gets going are just a few of the things that can be said. Caine is OK, but you get the feeling that the rest of the cast just don't care. In fact with better production values and a little more believable action this film could have been at least half-way decent. In the mid- to late-sixties there may have been a call for this type of film but not now. Then, it would have been slightly dangerous and risque, perhaps even exciting (then again perhaps not). Now it collects dust as it sits on the shelves of the local video outlet (really - it does!). The film is just a shadow of what could have been.