The Shadow Strays 2024 Movie Review
Stripped of her past and trained in the deadly art of fucking your shit up, adolescent assassin Codename 13 works diligently for a clandestine collective of killers known as The Shadow. After a mission goes sideways in Japan, her mentor, Umbra, picks up the fumble, but boots her to Indonesia on a disciplinary probation. While laying low in the slums of Jakarta, a chance encounter with a young boy who has run afoul of a local crime syndicate soon embroils the restless and rebellious 13 in an unsanctioned crusade, inciting a bevy of bloody battles that paint the town every shade of red, as well as drawing the ire of her merciless management.
Timo Tjahjanto is a conductor. Every punch, every swing of a sword, and every shot of a gun is executed with thrilling precision. No missed note. No beat is ever out of sync. Ultra-violent action is nothing new for the director of “The Night Comes for Us.” Here, Tjahjanto once again executes meticulous violent mayhem from start to finish. His latest action opera, “The Shadow Strays,” makes “John Wick” look PG. Hollywood has nothing on Indonesian action cinema.
The world of “The Shadow Strays” is cruel and unforgiving. Existing in its darkness is a clandestine organization that will kill anyone for the right price. They are known in the underworld as The Shadows. Any man, even a yakuza boss, could know they’re coming for him, and he could prepare to recruit an army to protect him, but the next thing you know, his blood is on the ground. Shadows can wait patiently in the dark, striking in silence. These merciless ninjas leave absolute carnage in their wake, but not every mission goes smoothly.
After nearly botching a mission, a young prodigal assassin, Agent 13 (Aurora Ribero), is put on probation by her instructor, Umbra (Hana Malasan). 13 still has a lot to learn and even tougher targets ahead, but when her competence is questioned, she’s sent to Jarkarta to lay low and wait for instructions that never arrive. While there, she witnesses the murder of a woman caught up in a criminal underworld composed of a drug dealing politician’s son (Andri Mashadi), a crooked cop (Adipati Dolken), and a human trafficker (Agra Piliang). 13 meets the woman’s young son, Monji (Ali Fikry), and the pair form a relationship akin to siblings. Having witnessed his mother’s last moments, 13 feels guilt for not having done something, still struggling with breaking away from her training. When Monji suddenly disappears while off to seek revenge against those who killed his mother, 13 goes after him. She makes her own mission, setting herself on a path of destruction, even if it means defying her mentor, Umbra, and The Shadows. Painting Jakarta red with a mountain of bodies in her wake, 13 finds herself hunted just as she is on the hunt.
Perhaps not since “Hanna” have we had a female action lead who’s so compelling to follow, and not since “Atomic Blonde” have we had one so badass. Apart from the film’s action scenes, what’s most interesting about “The Shadows Strays” is the internal fight that Agent 13 goes through. She displays early on that she has a conscience, something that even her instructor no longer seems to have. While everyone else can only think of killing, she questions why they do what they do. When Umbra says that “fulfilling the mission is our purpose in life,” Agent 13 retorts, “What is life?” She was forged to be the best but knows she’s more than just a killing machine. And while this journey is littered with bullet casings, it’s also a journey for Agent 13 to remember who she was before. Her life before this one is touched on in flashes of memory, but it’s way too brief, providing her with little backstory. Despite not knowing much about her, Ribero delivers a captivating physical and emotional performance, especially as her connection to Monji grows or in the very emotionally charged fight scenes she has. Her fight scenes feel almost palpably fervent, and just when you think she has no more juice, she gouges eyeballs.
“The Shadow Strays” is gnarly from start to finish, with blood-splattered lenses and walls doused in brain matter. No matter how skilled Agent 13 may be, she goes up against skilled opponents that constantly make you wonder who will win. The stakes always feel high, creating an adrenaline rush as you get immersed in jaw-dropping brutality. The film’s sound design emphasizes every sound in every fight, so even the sound of blood being flung off a blade and hitting the snow is music. With slow-motion projectiles, various camera angles, and how each character uses bodies and objects as weapons, no cord is off-key. Going down in a blaze of bullets with fire and fury, “The Shadow Strays” is an exercise in bold, bloody action, taking the genre to the extreme.
