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.

Interesting idea, along the lines of the "real" men in black, turns into a conventional potboiler about halfway through. Ok action, some good acting, ultimately stock directing... but a good overall attempt by the filmmakers to personalize the characters and give them some depth... out of character for this type of low budget production. Roberts is pretty good, so is Sherilyn Fenn. The stand out for me? It's got to be cult actor Andrew Prine as the main MIB. Above Average, I give it 7 out of ten.

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).

It seems not a single person behind-the-scenes on this project strived to make it anything more than passable. That's not to say the film is bad -- it isn't. It's not great either. It's just... *Meh*

There were opportunities in the script for curve balls to be thrown at the audience, but the filmmakers declined. They stuck to the formula, never veered off the path of familiarity, and gave us the plot completely by the numbers. This is the type of movie that you can flip on at any time and not really pay attention, never having to worry if you'll miss any key plot points.

I'm a fan of Eric Roberts and find him enjoyable in even the worst of movies, so having him in the cast definitely helped.

And kudos to the filmmakers for playing off the ridiculously awful alien costumes for realism. They looked awful, but worked in that "so cheesy it's fun" sort of way.

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 ****