Today’s quick review: Shadow Run. Edward Joffrey (Matthew Pochin), a bullied schoolboy, learns a dangerous secret when he stumbles across the aftermath of a botched armored car robbery. Haskell (Michael Caine), the brutal criminal behind the robbery, swears him to secrecy and sends him on his way. But their paths cross again when Haskell scopes out Joffrey’s school as part of a follow-up robbery targeting the same armored car route.
Shadow Run is a crime drama about the intersecting lives of a teenage boy and a ruthless criminal. Shadow Run splits its time between Joffrey’s school life and Haskell’s latest crime. Joffrey is an ostracized boy who latches onto Haskell as the only source of excitement in his life. Haskell is a killer who will do anything to protect his next payday. But in spite of this elaborate setup, Shadow Run has a hard time making anything of its premise.
Shadow Run has a number of issues, but chief among them is that the movie does a poor job of tying together the two halves of the story. Joffrey sees almost all of the major developments in Haskell’s plan, but never plays an important role in it. Aside from one or two brushes with danger, he is just an observer. Neither half of the story works individually either. Joffrey’s bullying plotline goes nowhere, while Haskell is an unsympathetic brute.
Shadow Run also has subtler issues with its direction and presentation style. The story should be a ripe opportunity for drama, with Joffrey undergoing a period of transition in his life and Haskell forced to take greater and greater risks to pull off his latest job. But the impact of these events is somewhat limp. Joffrey’s involvement is mishandled, Haskell’s crimes are matter-of-fact, and key moments of tension are underplayed.
As a result of these issues, Shadow Run is a movie with very limited appeal. The setup is a promising one, tossing a dark complication into the life of an ordinary boy, but the execution is lacking and the setup largely goes to waste. Even the presence of Michael Caine is not enough to salvage the movie. Fans of unusual crime movies may want to give Shadow Run a shot for curiosity’s sake, but most viewers should steer clear.
For a more successful drama about a pair of boys who witness a crime, try Cop Car. For a more meaningful interpersonal relationship between a boy and a fugitive, check out Mud. For Michael Caine as a more charismatic criminal, try The Italian Job.
[4.3 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133197/). I give it a 4.5 for a lackluster story and unappealing characters.