Bullet Points: Shadow (2018)
Believe it or not, I am no expert on Chinese history. I couldn’t tell you the difference between the Qin Dynasty or the Han Dynasty, but there is no doubt that they don’t screw around when it comes to making films based on their thousands of years of warriors killing each other. Will Shadow be just another one of those stabby-stabby movies? Let’s find out!
Synopsis: Three Kingdoms vie for control of the powerful walled city. One Commander maneuvers secretly from exile using a stand-in, or Shadow, while other try their own various methods to maintain or gain control of the city.
- The state of things: There are three different Kingdoms ruling the various parts of China but the Yang and Pei have an alliance. It grants the Yang control over the walled city of Jing City and that doesn’t sit well with the Commander of Pei. The King of Pei is a different beast, altogether. He is afraid to rock the boat with the Yang because he doesn’t think they would stand a chance in a fight so he’s content keeping the status quo.
- Duel me bro: Things aren’t going to be that easy for old King Pei. The Commander had gone and met up with the Yang and made arrangements for a duel between the two men to happen in the near future. The Commander doesn’t really think he can win and that pisses the King off immensely.
- Swerve #1: For the first swerve of the film we learn that the man who we know as the Commander is just a fill-in for the real guy. The real Commander is succumbing to wounds that he suffered the last time he found the Yang Commander. This fill-in (let’s call him Shadow) has been training for years for this very purpose and even the Commander’s wife is in on the switcheroo.
- Startin’ to get chummy: Shadow is continuing to do his best to fill the shoes of the Commander, even going so far as to inflict the same wounds on his body as him, until we notice that Shadow and the Madame look to be falling for one another. The Commander is totally obsessed with his plan and doesn’t seem to give two shits about his wife anymore so it was only a matter of time before she got that attention from somewhere.
- You can’t win: Unlike that ungrateful bitch Adrian in Rocky 4, Madame never tells Shadow that he has no chance at survival. In fact, she comes up with the very fighting style that offers to bring success to the man. She even goes the extra mile and lays a sexual beatdown on him the night before the duel but professional fighters the world over might disagree with this tactic.
- Plans: The Commander’s plan never really needed Shadow to win in the first place. Sadly, he also understands this so neither man is expecting much from the duel. What they are expecting is that there will be a pretty badass Special Forces-style attack on the city while Shadow is tying up the Yang Commander on playground. The real Commander doesn’t care about Shadow but he plans on swooping in and becoming king of Jing City.
- Round 1: The movie moves really slowly for the first 60% or so but picks up steam and delivers some sweet action in the final act of the film. While Shadow and the Yang Commander are battling it out there is an attack on the city by a bunch of released convicts and the sister of the King of Pei. There are some really ingenious things they do as it isn’t as easy as just killing some guards and scooting around the city.
- Who says you can’t go back: All Shadow wants is to know who he is and to find his mother. Well, happy endings are far less entertaining in movies like this so imagine my surprise when not only does that not happen, but we also aren’t done seeing bloodshed. The real Commander is still out there and now the King of Pei is trying to swoop in and take Jing City for himself. For everything that Shadow has done for Pei and for the King you would think he would be a little more generous.
The Verdict: Shadow moves a little more slowly than I expected. I thought that it was going to be another epic Chinese war film but most of the movie is light on action and more interested in motives and maneuverings. It’s a welcome change, too. I’ve seen so many of the Chinese war epics that I often start one thinking that I haven’t yet watched it only to realize halfway through that I’ve already reviewed it. Shadow also uses color, or lack of color in some cases, to further emphasize the ongoing existence of yin and yang. If you’ve watched and enjoyed movies like Hero, Three Kingdoms, or House of Flying Daggers then you’ll most likely enjoy Shadow’s various excellently choreographed fight scenes. What you won’t expect, however, is how much you’ll get sucked into the intricate web of lies and deceitfulness that abounds in Shadow.
