A Washington boy wonder who has to dangle from buildings, swim through sewers and dodge subway trains, Charlie Sheen's character in "Shadow Conspiracy" is another case of a man who knows too much. However, director George P. Cosmatos' thriller is a derivative potboiler that pales next to such genre classics as "Three Days of the Condor" and "North by Northwest".
Snippets of dialogue from Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" are heard in one scene, and the filmmakers clearly invite comparisons to other serious films about corruption, betrayal and deadly conspiracies. A fair opening weekend, alas, is all the Hollywood Pictures film can hope for, as word-of-mouth and reviews will be tepid at best.
Cosmatos' most successful film was 1985's "Rambo: First Blood, Part II" and he's never gotten further than that hit's comic-book appeal. In "Conspiracy", the inner workings of the White House and the romantic attraction between the lead and his former girlfriend are but two of the film's areas undermined by simplistic, flat dialogue and Cosmatos' by-the-book direction.
Not acting the clown but employing many disarming tactics, Sheen plays the one man who can persuade the loner President (Sam Waterston) to delay making rash changes that will upset Congress and the country. The film sets a serious tone from the opening credits, which is followed by the first scene of a cold-blooded killer (Stephen Lang) shooting several nonthreatening research types.
A full-blown coup, no less, is the aim of conspirators at the very top of the government, including the vice president (Ben Gazzara) and the crafty chief of staff (Donald Sutherland). With the verisimilitude of a bestseller, the story plunges ahead and brings about such unlikely developments as Linda Hamilton's aggressive newswoman running the gauntlet with Sheen's fugitive under surveillance.
There's a fairly successful sequence involving a low-key entrance to the White House to access computer files, but the subsequent escape through an elevator shaft and underground tunnel is drawn-out nonsense. Similarly, the climactic assassination attempt underscores the film's overall juvenile approach, despite the regal setting.
SHADOW CONSPIRACY
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Hollywood Pictures
Andrew G. Vajna presents a Cinergi production
A George P. Cosmatos film
Director:George P. Cosmatos
Producer:Terry Collis
Writers:Adi Hasak, Ric Gibbs
Executive producers:Andrew G. Vajna, Buzz Feitshans
Director of photography:Buzz Feitshans IV
Production designer:Joe Alves
Editor:Robert A. Ferretti
Music:Bruce Broughton
Costume designer:April Ferry
Casting:Karen Rae
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bobby Bishop:Charlie Sheen
Conrad:Donald Sutherland
Amanda Givens:Linda Hamilton
The Agent:Stephen Lang
Vice President Saxon:Ben Gazzara
President:Sam Waterston
Running time -- 103 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Snippets of dialogue from Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" are heard in one scene, and the filmmakers clearly invite comparisons to other serious films about corruption, betrayal and deadly conspiracies. A fair opening weekend, alas, is all the Hollywood Pictures film can hope for, as word-of-mouth and reviews will be tepid at best.
Cosmatos' most successful film was 1985's "Rambo: First Blood, Part II" and he's never gotten further than that hit's comic-book appeal. In "Conspiracy", the inner workings of the White House and the romantic attraction between the lead and his former girlfriend are but two of the film's areas undermined by simplistic, flat dialogue and Cosmatos' by-the-book direction.
Not acting the clown but employing many disarming tactics, Sheen plays the one man who can persuade the loner President (Sam Waterston) to delay making rash changes that will upset Congress and the country. The film sets a serious tone from the opening credits, which is followed by the first scene of a cold-blooded killer (Stephen Lang) shooting several nonthreatening research types.
A full-blown coup, no less, is the aim of conspirators at the very top of the government, including the vice president (Ben Gazzara) and the crafty chief of staff (Donald Sutherland). With the verisimilitude of a bestseller, the story plunges ahead and brings about such unlikely developments as Linda Hamilton's aggressive newswoman running the gauntlet with Sheen's fugitive under surveillance.
There's a fairly successful sequence involving a low-key entrance to the White House to access computer files, but the subsequent escape through an elevator shaft and underground tunnel is drawn-out nonsense. Similarly, the climactic assassination attempt underscores the film's overall juvenile approach, despite the regal setting.
SHADOW CONSPIRACY
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Hollywood Pictures
Andrew G. Vajna presents a Cinergi production
A George P. Cosmatos film
Director:George P. Cosmatos
Producer:Terry Collis
Writers:Adi Hasak, Ric Gibbs
Executive producers:Andrew G. Vajna, Buzz Feitshans
Director of photography:Buzz Feitshans IV
Production designer:Joe Alves
Editor:Robert A. Ferretti
Music:Bruce Broughton
Costume designer:April Ferry
Casting:Karen Rae
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bobby Bishop:Charlie Sheen
Conrad:Donald Sutherland
Amanda Givens:Linda Hamilton
The Agent:Stephen Lang
Vice President Saxon:Ben Gazzara
President:Sam Waterston
Running time -- 103 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 1/31/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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