The Shadow Men

This film seems to be an attempt to give a more "realistic" portrayal of alien encounters and Men In Black (well I say "realistic" because the proof is still lacking).

It certainly targets to people (such as myself) who have a strong interest in UFOlogy, aliens, MIBs, the real X files etc.

It's not a bad film but not a great film. It's rather predictable throughout because it has all the cliches that we've learnt from the X Files and tv shows about aliens abductions.

It is not a bad movie to watch if you are reading a book, playing the guitar or doing something else while it's on.

The ending pleasantly and enjoyably excessive but I guess a film needs some sort of closure.

There was a lot of talent that was wasted on this film. Both Dean Stockwell and Sherilyn Fenn have made much better films.

I thought Shadow Men was good, for a direct-to-video flick. Oh sure, the special effects weren't great and there were a few plot holes here and there, but otherwise, it was ok. There was a sort of creepiness about the whole thing. Afterall, would you really want to be chased by the MiB? (And I'm not talking about the light-hearted MiB of Jones and Smith).

Finally, a semi-accurate portrayal of the infamous Men In Black, although I doubt the real MIB agents are alien/human hybrids. Okay, so the plot line was thin and sounded like an x-file, but lets give the writers credit for doing some research in Ufology. Hard core conspiracy buffs and those looking for alternatives to the "Will Smith" and "Tommy Lee Jones" MIB only.

It would be interesting to compare this one to Men in Black. (the will smith film.) This was more like what I've heard real life stories of encounters with MIB agents is like. Decent cast, too, with Eric Roberts, Dean Stockwell, and Andrew Prine. Slow and dark at times, but worth the rental if just to satisfy your curiosity. Give it a try.

** 1/2 out of ****

Okay, all things considered, this movie delivers on a number of issues. There were some good performances from Fenn, Roberts and Stockwell. The dialogue was realistic. Writing was good considering the low budget. The research of the subject matter was excellent! It's just too bad that larger budgets won't support such treatments of well established UFO mythology. This one pretty much got it right, though it relied a little heavily on "big movie" gratuities, such as big explosions, high speed action. Overall, the movie was good and is a great addition to the lackluster treatment of UFO lore by Hollywood to date.