I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one of those movies whose cast and trailer sound promising, only to drop the ball altogether when you watch it. It is no surprise it bombed miserably on the ticket booth.It was yet another conspiracy movie of they stream that peaked with Enemy of State in the mid-1990s. The Soviets and communists used to offer an easy, credible enemy to write a thriller movie about, so "average" plots could fit well on the screen. Without Soviets around, it became tricky to explore other enemies, and many movies were shot around that time with internal conspiracies within the US government.The cast is not bad at all, on the contrary, it is quite respectful. Photography is lackluster, though, and the characters are just not credible. The first 5 minutes are definitively the only salvageable part of the movie.As usual in this type of movie, the real intentions and objectives of characters are not clear from the beginning and there are some twists. Again, unfortunately those twists happen without any explanation or any crescendo that leads to them. It gives the viewer the impression that they needed to turn a "good guy" into a "bad guy" and just did it in a frustrating way.Were the cast not a A- cast as this is, it would have been a trash movie. The cast, indeed, did a good job on containing damage and ameliorating the failure this movie is.

This all looked quite promising. An up-and-coming Presidential adviser is framed for a series of murders, as he has been tipped off that a conspiracy is going on within the White House. It stars the excellent Donald Sutherland among several capable actors. Yet very few people have a good word to say about it.The whole thing really needed some depth. You can pick up the idea that the President is being too left-wing with his ideas, and some within the Government want him dead to stop those ideas being carried out. Conrad appears to simply want the country to be Governed his way, rather than the way of the elected leader.However, the action scenes had a few logic holes - the sewers and elevators already mentioned, and the rather haphazard assassination method - and Linda Hamilton's character is completely uninspired. Her 'the President's my Father' 'diversion' was ludicrous - that would make the President about 10 when that happened. Worse still was her predictable final scene with Bishop.They could have made a challenging, inventive political thriller, but either bottled it or failed. They could've gone to town on special effects, but the good ones were wasted. They could have achieved so much more in general. This was barely worth the £1 it cost me.

This film can be very easily summarized as an average thriller. The films' premise, , locations, and action scenes are exactly that: average. The film's saving graces are in its actors, storyline execution, and music.The acting isn't top notch but its good. Charlie Sheen does rather well in the role of Bobby Bishop, the young Presidential aide who gets unintentionally swept up in a dangerous conspiracy, though his youth hurts the credibility of the character. Donald Sutherland put son a good performance as Joseph Conrad, the White House Chief of Staff, with one of his best "trust me" roles as a good guy who turns out to be not so good. Linda Hamilton does all right in the role of the journalist and Bishop's love interest Amanda Givens, though she seems a bit too old for Bishop. Stephen Lang does incredibly well in the role of the role of the villain who manages to thwart our heroes at every turn. Short appearances by Gore Vidal as a Congressman and Sam Waterston as the President also help the film. The execution of the story is slightly above average. The idea of a conspiracy against the President is nothing knew but having members of the President's inner circle be responsible seems to be the most original idea of the film and the plot holes are caused not by the story but by the film's action sequences.The film's other plus is its music. The music score by Bruce Broughton is terrific. It does incredibly well over what would otherwise have been a very unimpressive main title sequence by adding a thundering, patriotic tone. The music adds some much needed suspense to many of the films otherwise tired scenes, especially the finale.The rest of the film is otherwise average. The plot of the government plotting against the President (previously seen in films like Seven Days In May) returns once more, though not to the great effect it was used in that 1960's classic. The action sequences in the film are not only average, but are the main source of the plot holes. The action sequence in a White House elevator shaft serves as a major point. How does Bishop, who is wanted by the Secret Service, manage to not only get in the White House but to escape from it as well? This is one of many examples from the film. The only action sequence that manages to go above average is the finale sequence: the assassination attempt. It is the only sequence in the film that manages to hold suspense despite the fact that the assassination method is silly.Despite the average nature of most of the film, this is still worth watching. The acting, plot , and music make this film worth watching. Besides, it is a pretty good way to spend 100 minutes in front of your TV.

I clicked onto the Encore Mystery channel to wait for the movie I wanted to see, Island of Dr. Moreau. I caught only a few minutes of Shadow Conspiracy. An old man runs to meet Charlie and grabs him by the arm. Suddenly, an Assassin in a bright rain coat taps the old man in the head (with a side arm) from across the street. After waiting for "C" to turn around and look, the "A" tries to shoot "C" and clearly misses. "C" was a much easier target, the old man couldn't have run far. Duh! There is a chase and "C" is on an elevator "A" is on the roof, so he tries to shoot the cable, which is parallel to the "A". He hits and severs the cable, impossible. Later, this time with a specialized rifle, the "A" lines up on "C" from maybe 50 meters, but is to stupid to notice a motorcycle coming up and taps the rider instead. How does Charlie get his parts? Does Daddy go to the producers and say "Look, my kid needs work..." It reminds me of his stupid Sit - Com. All the actors are good except, yup ... you got it. I usually have to endue 2 or 3 minutes of that waiting for C.S.I. to come on. Let's see, what can I do for the next hour. I know, I'll trim my toenails! Much better use of my time.