Bullet Points: The Shadow Strays
Maybe it is the optimist in me, but I would much rather scroll through social media and see a bunch of people praising a movie, as opposed to burying one.
The Shadow Strays, the latest film from Director Timo Tjahjanto (The Night Comes for Us), dropped on Netflix this past Thursday and since then I have seen nothing but universal praise on every social media platform that I am a part of. Could it really be that good!?! There was only one way to find out…
- Out of the Shadows: The Shadows of Darkness are a clandestine organization of assassins. They can strike at any place, at any time IF the price is right. As the movie begins, the Yoshinori Clan is on high alert. The Shadows of Darkness have been contracted to kill Yoshinori and the Clan has caught word of it. Now this isn’t the first time that Yoshinori has faced the possibility of being assassinated, so he’s blowing it off… however his right hand man, Kenjiro, is taking it very seriously. Kenjiro delivers a speech to his boss that really builds up The Shadows of Darkness and then it happens… while Yoshinori is enjoying the company of a woman he ordered… one of the Shadows shows up and everything Kenjiro warned his boss about, plays out in ultra-violent fashion right on the screen. While the primary target is eliminated as planned, things get messy afterwards and the inexperience of the teenage assassin, known simply as 13 (Aurora Ribero), is to blame. 13’s instructor, Umbra (Hana Pitrashata Malasan), scolds her young protege and orders 13to go in for psych retraining… basically benching 13 until she is determined to be fit for action again.
- Enter the Monji: 13 is a little more than anxious to get back to work, but she’s getting the runaround from the powers that be. During her time off, 13 witnesses an 11 year old boy named Monji, lose his mother in dubious fashion. 13 befriends Monji and learns about the company Monji’s mother was keeping… notably a nasty individual named Haga. Haga and his two life long friends, Soriah and Ariel are three of the most notorious men in Jakarta. They are as powerful as they are dangerous… and when Monji goes missing, 13 declares war on the triangle of terror… recruiting one of Haga’s errand boys, Jeki, to help her on what would be a suicide mission for the average person. The action that results from this war is off the charts, with 13 doing whatever it takes to get Monji back! The whole 13/Monji story could be a movie in and of itself, but The Shadow Strays just keeps giving…
- The Plot Thickens: The Shadows of Darkness are none too happy with 13’s extremely high profile freelancing. Umbra is given the unfortunate assignment to put a stop to 13’s actions… which means Assassin vs. Assassin and Student vs. Teacher. At this point in the movie if you some how did not get your fill of fight scenes, The Shadow Strays have you covered and then some… it is as close to total non-stop action as I can recall any movie having.
I mentioned the positive social media hype I saw going into The Shadow Strays and after watching I can safely say… believe the hype. The Shadow Strays is the best pure action movie of the year and Aurora Ribero made one helluva first impression on me.
The movie establishes the 13 character and her motivation and then unleashes her on some of the nastiest villains I have ever seen. The kills are bountiful and fill the majority of the movie’s lengthy 2 hours and 25 minutes, but the major kills don’t get lost in the shuffle. There’s one kill in particular that popped me big and was rewind worthy.
If you are a fan of brutal, in your face, visceral action, give The Shadow Strays a watch ASAP.
