Shadow Conspiracy

Directed by George P. Cosmatos, Shadow Conspiracy follows Charlie Sheen’s Bobby Bishop as he’s forced to go on the run after stumbling upon a plot to assassinate the President of the United States (Sam Waterston). It’s a familiar yet compelling scenario that’s employed to watchable (if erratic) effect by Cosmatos, as the filmmaker, armed with Adi Hasak and Ric Gibbs’ screenplay, delivers a somewhat sluggish thriller that never becomes quite as engrossing or enthralling as one might’ve hoped – with the decent-enough atmosphere perpetuated, then, by a series of strong performances (eg Stephen Lang’s mesmerizing, over-the-top turn as a Terminator-like assassin) and several admittedly electrifying sequences and set-pieces. (There is, in terms of the latter, an absolutely terrific interlude within the movie’s final third wherein Sheen’s character is pursued by a motorcycle-riding thug through the streets and eventually subways of Washington.) And while the whole thing ultimately never becomes much more than a pleasant-enough diversion, Shadow Conspiracy nevertheless manages to sustain the viewer’s interest and attention through its relatively brisk running time (even if one does begin to forget everything about it mere moments after it concludes).

**1/2 out of ****