“The Shadow Strays” Netflix Poster
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Cast: Auroro Ribero, Hana Malasan, Ali Fikri, Adipati Dolken, Kristo Immanuel, Andri Mashadi, Chew Kin Wah, Arswendy Bening Swara, Tanta Ginting
Running Time: 145 min.
By Paul Bramhall
When the Indonesian directing duo the Mo Brothers decided to apply their horror genre leanings to the action genre in 2016, the result was Headshot, a movie which immediately grabbed the attention of martial arts cinema fans. While it was far from the first time the 2 genres had been brought together, it arguably was the first for the horror aspect to be so heavily incorporated into the action itself. Taking a cue from Gareth Evans’ The Raid and its sequel, the inherent violence of fighting, and the physical damage that comes from it, were placed firmly at the fore. It was one half of the duo, Timo Tjahjanto, who took the concept and ran with it, unleashing The Night Comes for Us in 2018, a production that fully committed to a slice of martial arts mayhem, presented through the lens of a filmmaker who loves to pile on the gore. The result was a pure shot of adrenaline, and one that many felt would be impossible to replicate.
After rather awkwardly attempting to incorporate the same type of martial arts driven hyper violence into a comedy setting with 2022’s The Big 4, in 2024 Tjahjanto returned to the same kind of gritty backdrop as The Night Comes for Us with The Shadow Strays. While Tjahjanto had been rumoured to be working on a spin-off to his earlier production for a number of years, one which was intended to focus on the female assassin played by Julie Estelle, it’s easy to speculate that whatever that project was going to be has ultimately become The Shadow Strays. In fact in many ways his latest could be seen as a female-centric version of The Night Comes for Us, as once more we’re presented with an assassin whose part of a clandestine organisation, and finds themselves tired of a life full of death with no future.
Played by the half Italian half Indonesian Auroro Ribero (Two Blue Hearts), a 23-minute pre-title sequence sets the tone as we meet her in Japan taking out an entire yakuza clan in extremely bloody fashion (complete with Lone Wolf and Cub inspired blood geysers). Caught offguard, she’s rescued by her mentor, played by Hana Malasan (The Train of Death), who after the failure sends Ribero back to Jakarta to recuperate, while she heads off to Cambodia on the next mission. It’s in Jakarta where the main plot unfolds, which riffs on The Man from Nowhere when Ribero reluctantly befriends the poor kid next door, following the murder of his junkie mother by some shady characters who visited their apartment. When the kid himself goes missing though, she takes it upon herself to become a one-woman army to bring him back, following a trail that leads all the way up to a corrupt politician and his son.
Clocking in just short of 145 minutes, the runtime may seem exorbitant considering we live in an era where many Chinese web movies cover similar plots in half the time, however once you tune into Tjahjanto’s wavelength it soon becomes clear that the plot is not the main focus of The Shadow Strays. While I’m often the first one to complain about bloated runtimes, my usual gripe associated with many modern action movies is that there’s a lot of unnecessary padding, when a little more enthusiasm in the editing room could have resulted in a lean and mean slice of action. The Shadow Strays is that rarity in which every minute of its runtime is dedicated to building up to an action scene, and most importantly, the action scenes themselves.
It almost feels like Tjahjanto is inherently aware of such common martial arts cinema complaints like “the action was good, I just wish there’d been more of it” and “the fights were great, they were just a little on the short side”, so made it his mission to ensure nobody would leave his latest daring to utter such words. Every action scene, and there’s many, is brutally lengthy, with Tjahjanto’s go-to choreographer Muhammad Irfan (Hit & Run) once more on fight choreography duty, clearly having been given the mandate of attempting to top everything he’s done before. I confess to feeling an initial twinge of concern after the opening yakuza bloodbath in Japan, fearing the narrative would fall victim to the classic straight-to-streaming trope of frontloading the best scenes to grab the viewers attention, but the fears were completely unfounded.
A trait which seems to be increasingly missing in action (pun intended) in recent action cinema, Tjahjanto and Irfan understand that action needs to steadily escalate as the plot progresses (and even more so with a 2+ hour runtime!). It’s a concept that may seem obvious, but so much recent output falls victim to placing its best action scene midway though, and chooses to end with a fizzle (I, The Executioner being the most recent example that springs to mind). To witness a production which gets it right is a joy to behold, and while unacquainted viewers may understandably ask how the initial scene could be topped, thankfully everyone involved understands the brief.
Much like Headshot and The Night Comes for Us, for those that like their dose of martial arts action to be clean and crisp, the incorporation of extreme bodily harm will likely come across as gratuitous and delivering shock value for the sake of it. The point that The Shadow Strays executes so well, is convincing the audience that neither of those approaches are something be ashamed of enjoying. There’s a kind of joyous glee in how many of the fight scenes opt to go as far as they can in terms of damage, with a subtle underlying feeling that everyone knows how ridiculous it is, even though everything is played entirely pokerfaced. In one fight scene a group of attackers are wearing transparent plastic facemasks as a disguise, and when a gas stove is accidentally switched on, there’s a kind of guilty pleasure in waiting to see the inevitable moment when one of them has their face have an unfortunate encounter with the naked flame.
The example is indicative of many of The Shadow Strays fight scenes, with Ribero giving it 100% despite not being a trained martial artist, the lack of experience made up for by almost every scene being driven by her wild guttural screams as faces get smashed, ears bitten off, and eyeballs gouged into skulls. It’s fair to say her performance anchors the movie, with a portrayal as a slightly hunched, unkempt, and increasingly bloodied force of revenge feeling like the polar opposite to just about every other female assassin flick that’s hit the screens in the last 10 years.
If any criticism could be levelled towards Tjahjanto’s latest, it’s that the main story satisfactorily concludes around the 2-hour mark, with the last half hour circling back to the clandestine group of assassins Ribero is a part of. It’s essentially a double climax, but considering the only real time we’ve seen Ribero as an active part of the group is before the title has appeared onscreen, the emotional investment in having the characters suddenly reunite just isn’t there. To his credit, as if to offset the lack of emotional development between the characters, the inevitable face off between the group opts to go for broke, with impalements and decapitations involving everything from screwdrivers to nail bombs. If anything, it’s a finale that entertainingly belies expectations that every character had surely reached their limit in terms of the punishment their bodies could receive.
It’s worth mentioning a post-credits scene cameo that’ll definitely put a smile on any fans of Indonesian action cinema, one that, for once, takes a leaf out of the John Wick playbook that I actually have no objection too, as Ribero learns she’s now the target of every assassin who’s part of her organisation. While The Shadow Strays crams in so much onscreen mayhem there’s certainly no rush to crank out a sequel, when one comes, I’ll be first in line.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8.5/10
COOL BEANS!!! You know, I was kinda worried if this was going to deliver or not. I feel a little better now, mainly because you are so right about many action films these days that just don’t deliver at the finale. The action at the end should always up the ante from the opening action sequence and anything in between. Escalation is key to keep the viewer engaged. Likewise, I was worried with Ribero’s lack of formal training in martial arts that she might not come across so well selling her fights.
Oooh, I’m stoked! Definitely watching this over the weekend. And the mere mention of The Night Comes For Us makes me want to watch that again.
For me, I think the opening scene is a 10 out of 10, so incredible, but after the name of the film appeared I got the feeling that the highlight was seen here.
Of course it’s a great action film, I hope it’s very successful because we need more of this. Like TncforUS, I think it’s incredible that actors who aren’t martial arts experts make these films, especially the girls.
This leaves me thinking that Quentin Tarantino was right… everyone can be a Bruce Lee on the big screen…
I can’t wait to start up Netflix tonight. I know I’ve defended John Wick 4 in the past, but it is true that film did not have a good balance of its action and story ratio with it peaking in Osaka, and having too much padding in between not as impressive action scenes.
If The Shadow Strays uses most of its 2 hours and 25 minutes to give audiences the fix that they crave, that should be the standard if film makers are gonna take chances with long running times.
Gonna watch this after work but just wanted to comment on how the action needs to escalate. While I agree the best action scene should be the climax of the movie, continual escalation can lead to things like Die Hard 4 where the action starts off with a shootout in an apartment and ended with John McClane jumping off a fighter plane and sliding down a broken highway like its a slide in a park. Or just John wick 4 in general
It’s a valid call out. The action shouldn’t fizzle out, but at the same time it shouldn’t become so bombastic to the point it betrays the tone that’s been set by all of the earlier action scenes.
For me ‘The Shadow Strays’ gets it right, and if anything reminded me in many ways of 2008’s ‘Chocolate’, in that if I was to rate the movie based on only watching the initial third, I’d have ended up scoring it much lower than how I felt when the end credits roll. I was concerned during some of the initial scenes that Ribero didn’t look powerful enough (there’s a particularly weak looking kick thrown when they’re attempting to exit the nightclub), but as the plot progresses so does the intensity and brutality of the action, crescendoing in the protracted finale that puts everyone through the wringer. In the end the steady escalation and progression of the action scenes makes ‘The Shadow Strays’ work as a whole rather than just in parts, and I’d definitely be down for a rewatch.
The action scenes here are executed brilliantly and they don’t peak too soon I agree. But I just had a hard time being excited for the 20 minutes and the last 30 minutes. Theres a tight 100 minute movie here. Don’t you think this movie could have been improved if they removed all the shadow assassin organisation stuff. Beefed up 13’s relationship with Minjo and Teki so when the action hits, it hits hard
Definitely a fair call, there’s no doubt the opening and closing action scenes lack the emotional investment that the one’s which take place as part of the main plot come with.
Personally I was able to look past it, and found the shadow assassin backdrop gave Ribero the legitimacy to storm into any scenario she comes across without knowing the level of danger. I think without that, and if she was just a determined character who knew how to fight, her bullheaded approach would probably have come across as dumb. In that way I appreciated how the backstory provided the connection to the way she acts once the main plot kicks in.
I would argue that the quality of the opening action sequence was to get the audience excited and see what the protagonists are made of. It was very much in line with other martial art films that open with henchmen getting their asses kicked or killed.
The finale was great in that it wasn’t just about how cool everything looked, as it was also about how a woman who’s gotta be half-dead after everything she’s been through is still powering though and using strategy.
Then there’s the story about how how someone who took the role of a surrogate mother and their pupil are forced to fight even though they don’t want to, and every time they inflict harm on each other, they hate themselves more.
At the top of my head, it’s somewhat like the final fight in House of Flying Daggers where two friends are driven to the point of killing each other and have an ugly fight.
Sometimes all it takes is a line to explain why the protagonist is badass. Something something special set of skills something!
Still feel could have moved all black widow stuff to the sequel. Hell they could even keep the mid credits sequnece where shes burying the kid and then her organisation turns up saying shes gone rogue as a teaser for part 2. Mr Hernandez mentioned the ending was supposed to bring the feels when the “mother/daughter” are tearing chunks off each other. They should have saved that for the sequel and expanded on the relationship, more than just a few words in the van after a mission.
Onto my next now, DC’s Black Canary….no sorry Canary Black with my 3rd favourite Kate
“Sometimes all it takes is a line to explain why the protagonist is badass. Something something special set of skills something!”
Yeah that’s very true. For the other times, you end up with something like ‘The Doorman’. 😛
Yes, sometimes the right line does the job, but I’m also a proponent of “show, don’t tell.”
Accurate review. Watched this over the weekend.
Better than ANY John Wick movie. Better than Headshot. Not as good as The Night Comes for Us. But 100% worth watching. Timo would be an excellent candidate for a period Samurai flick.
I’d probably be more in the 7.5/10 rating. But if you’re an action junkie, you can’t go wrong.
The 8 out of 10 is totally fair! I ate The Shadow Strays up.
Aurora Ribero was on fire for the entire runtime. She reminded me of a more extreme version of Sawa from the anime film Kite, where despite being smaller and a non-powerhouse, she convincingly uses her limitations to her advantage and takes down bigger opponents. Every time she ran someone through, she was like a bullet ripping into them.
Her fight with Daniel Ekaputra was a great indicator of this with how she would launch herself off a pillar in order to hurt him. There was a ton of action, but it was spaced out enough to develop the plot and allow the audience to get to know the characters.
I did have a few gripes, but they mostly come down to nitpicking. It was extremely stupid of the drug dealing organization to keep Ribero alive when it was obvious that she’s too dangerous to take chances with.
Even when they had her twice, they still didn’t kill her, although I also thought it was kind of annoying how she was about to get killed while chained against a wall, and one would think that an über-assassin would have escaped those cuffs. She at least could have dislocated her thumbs to slip out. Did the corrupt politician really have to be the one to save her?
It was also great to see Eva Celia Latjuba from Golden Cane Warrior for her fight scene. She’s another talent who should be more on the forefront.
I don’t mean to be a contrarian but this one is a mixed bag. The opening scene did nothing for me. Its technically well done but theres just no stakes. You don’t care about the yakuza or the asssassins. The female assassins thread just reminded me of Black Widow – not a good thing. And killing a pregnant woman is just one step too far for my tastes.
The main story with the neighbors kid was tropey as hell but alot more engaging. When 13 saves Jeki and his grandma from the bad guys – that was a highlight of the movie. They should have just focused on rescuing Monji and saved the world building/franchise elements for a sequel. Did we really need another extended action sequence with a rival drug dealing gang. 13 and the governors son could have had their final battle a scene earlier in the prison cell.
I really enjoyed both Headshot and The Night Comes for Us – they are both peak genre filmmaking. This one is a step down. A more streamlined version of this movie would get a 8/10 but as is, its a bloated 5.5/10
“as we meet her in Japan taking out an entire yakuza clan”
Yeah… No…