Shadow Run

Let's face it, Shadow Run isn't action packed. It's a kind of slow burner that kind of flickers slightly for a while. That said, if you're in the right mood it's okay. Caine is gangster who finds out, via James Fox, that he can get his hands on the paper the Royal Mint use to make bank notes, and starts getting a crew together for a heist. However, he's also having to deal with an unpopular public school boy who witnesses his last heist. The story jumps between Caine getting the heist together, and this boy's bullying at the school. That's, err, basically it. You've got Tim Healy here too, and Leslie Grantham (thankfully nowhere near a webcam!). Things run along smoothly, but there's not real action in it. It's not a bad movie, just a bit bland. Hence the short review.

I picked this up in a charity shop for 50p and still feel robbed. Despite being made in 1998, this feels like a low-budget TV movie from 1980.

The script is terrible. I mean REALLY terrible. None of it makes sense, especially the central premise of the "radio shadow". Communication signals just do not work like that! And don't get me started on the dialogue... The acting is terrible. Even Michael Caine and James Fox cannot elevate this drivel. Everyone else is so bad that it feels like a student film.

The cinematography is terrible. It is painful to watch.

I cannot imagine how Michael Caine was convinced to do this. Did he lose a bet? It really is that bad.

i picked this up in a charity shop, one of them freebie CD's that you occasionally find - this one was part of the 'Michael Caine Collection' given away with some British newspaper once. Anyway i have spent all week watching the 1988 adaptation of 'Jack The Ripper' starring MC, so thought i would follow it up with this...

in defence of this movie, the plot is a bit daft, i agree, but it is a great experience to see Leslie Grantham and Caine acting for large periods of time in the same scenes. I also thought that the addition of that guy who plays the General in the Star Wars movies IV-VI was good too, as he is a largely underused actor, in my opinion.

so whilst i possibly agree the film is weak, the chance to see a few quality British actors together on camera is worth it. I also find it quite surprising that a big time actor like Caine would get caught up in such a trivial movie filmed in the UK. There was a reason for the Ripper TV movie, as it was a semi-investigative journalist type film to 'commemorate' (not sure if that is the best phrase to use) the 100 years since Jack The Ripper.

Read earlier here that someone wanted to know whether public schools like that exist. Well i studied music at a pre-1992 UK university and believe me - staff like that depicted in this film DO exist.

Well, it's not surprising that this opus has hardly been seen by anyone. Leadenly directed, wretchedly scripted and with a visual appeal comparable to an episode of a tenth rate BBC-TV crime series, the movie is a complete misfire. Caine, however, is as watchable as ever, but genrally, Shadow Run is an embarrassment.

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.