Action movie fans are currently flying high thanks to Netflix’s thriller Rebel Ridge…but director Jeremy Saulnier’s action outing could be set to lose its crown sooner than we thought, as the first reactions to the streamer’s upcoming action thriller The Shadow Strays promise “hyperkinetic, violent mayhem from start to finish.” The Shadow Strays, which comes courtesy of the director behind 2018’s The Night Comes for Us, Timo Tjahjanto, has now debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it sounds like we have an action movie classic on our hands.
@NextBestPicture’s Matt Neglia heaped praise on The Shadow Strays, declaring that the movie “packs quite a punch” and applauding the performances and fight choreography.
“THE SHADOW STRAYS is hyperkinetic, violent mayhem from start to finish. At nearly two and a half hours, this blood-soaked, adrenaline-fueled tale of guardianship and the nature of violence packs quite a punch. Aurora Ribero pours everything into her physically and emotionally exhausting performance, crushing anyone in her path while captivating us in the process. Her climactic confrontation with Hana Malasan is one of the best-choreographed and most emotionally charged one-on-one fight scenes I’ve ever seen. Normally, I’d roll my eyes at the MCU-style sequel setup, but I was so pumped and morbidly satisfied by the brutal kills and carnage that I say, GIVE US MORE!!”
Critic @strangeharbors reveals that The Shadow Strays contains all the ingredients necessary to make an action movie favorite, all of which combine perfectly to make you feel like “a 13-year-old watching the coolest sh*t ever.”
“Night vision ninjas, brutal choreography, goopy squibs. Leave it to a new Timo joint to turn you into a 13-year-old watching the coolest sh*t ever. I mean that in the best way possible. Aurora Ribero and Hana Malasan are superstars.”
The Shadow Strays Has Been Likened to Modern Action Masterpiece The Raid
@alexpaps1 heaps praise on the lead performance from Aurora Ribero saying, “Timo Tjahjanto’s THE SHADOW STRAYS will leave you cackling with insane delight at the lengths to which he takes his action sequences. It’s just non-stop brutality heightened by an excellent lead performance,” while @Drokcomedy calls the movie “an action gem” adding, “THE SHADOW STRAYS is an action packed, brutal, blood soaked thrill ride! Unrelenting in violence and stunning fight choreography, it runs a little long and gets buried under its convoluted plot, but it never once stops being entertaining! Netflix has an action gem here.”
Finally, film critics @RamasScreen compares The Shadow Strays to another modern action movie masterpiece: 2011’s The Raid. Which should instantly have fans’ hearts beating with excitement.
“Timo Tjahjanto’s THE SHADOW STRAYS was bloody awesome! Most satisfying hyper-violent action movie I’ve seen all year. It made me proud of being Indonesian. Brutal, inventive, stylized. Best fight sequences since “The Raid.” Aurora is a star in the making.”
Written and directed by Timo Tjahjanto, The Shadow Strays stars Aurora Ribero, Hana Malasan, Ali Fikry, Adipati Dolken, and Andri Mashadi, and you can check out the official synopsis below.
“Codename 13, a 17-year-old trained assassin is under suspension because of a sloppy mission in Japan. The girl built a conscience when she met Monji, an 11 year old boy who lost his mother to a crime syndicate. When Monji is captured, 13 is hellbent on setting a path of destruction to rescue the boy, including going against her mentor and the organization who hires her, the Shadow.”
The Shadow Strays
is due to land on
Netflix
on October 17, 2024.