top of page

THE SHADOW STRAYS

Starring: Aurora Ribero and Hana Pitrashata Malasan
Director: Timo Tjahjanto

Quentin sticker.png

ADRIANO

Quentin sticker.png

Fifteen minutes into The Shadow Strays, two badass ninjas cut multiple heads off, gun down multiple people, and slice folks up. So, suffice it to say, I fell for this movie quickly. The Shadow Strays rarely lets up with its ultra-violence, and when it does, it elevates the characters and the world around them. The movie never feels repetitive either, as director Timo Tjahjanto finds new and exciting ways to chop bad guys up…so much so that I found myself having a blast for all 144 minutes. If we truly are getting the sequel that is set up, bring it on.

Quentin sticker.png

QUENTIN

Quentin sticker.png

Writer-director Timo Tjahjanto seemingly makes one kind of movie, and to be fair, he’s really good at that type of movie. However, the problem is that to make each one more brutal and violent than the last, which is a tall task because they’re all viscerally action-packed, the only new thing he has to offer is longer runtimes. The Shadow Strays, his longest film yet, still packs the same bloody brutality as his other films, which is fun, but it drags at 143 minutes, resulting in a diminished entertainment factor. The carnage is there, but it gets unrelentingly repetitive and becomes almost exhaustingly too much.

Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png

This film was reviewed by Adriano as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png
Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png
Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png
Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png
Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png
Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png
Quentin sticker.png

Quentin sticker.png

bottom of page