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Shadow Conspiracy

Play trailer Poster for Shadow Conspiracy R Released Jan 31, 1997 1h 43m Mystery & Thriller Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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7% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 20% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Presidential aide Bobby Bishop (Charlie Sheen) runs into an old professor who tells him of a secret plot to assassinate the president (Sam Waterston). But before Bobby can learn anything more, his friend is shot and killed. Bobby turns to Amanda Givens (Linda Hamilton), an old friend who works as a reporter at an influential newspaper. After they uncover a conspiracy to kill many high-level government officials, they must race against time to stop a murderer.
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Shadow Conspiracy

Shadow Conspiracy

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Critics Consensus

Rather than exciting audiences with a thrilling race against time, Shadow Conspiracy suggests there may be a secret cabal duping talented actors into selecting woefully deficient scripts.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: D Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader Bland, interminable chase scenes take up so much of the story -- the hackneyed plot doesn't need much exposition -- that the sheer repetitiveness begins to amaze you. Jul 28, 2009 Full Review Charlotte O'Sullivan Time Out Sadly, Sheen doesn't even look profound. Like a zombie who's spent too much time in the gym, he blunders heavily from one stunt to the next, his pursed lips conveying nothing more than pique. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a somewhat sluggish thriller that never becomes quite as engrossing or enthralling as one might’ve hoped... Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 10, 2023 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com ...what's truly surprising is that this terrific cast was assembled to deliver such a crazy message... Rated: 3/5 Dec 4, 2021 Full Review Maitland McDonagh TV Guide Corpses pile up, dreadful secrets are uncovered, and Bishop eventually gets to the bottom of things, a full hour after the least attentive viewer will have figured out who's behind it all. Rated: 2/4 Jul 28, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Uynga U the name make the story so satisfiying Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/24 Full Review erdene c The shooting was very professional Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/24 Full Review Munkhjargal A this movie takes on an incarnation of assassinating the president, and manages to show how dangerous one can be. Because he was a good journalist, he could take advantage of it and help them uncover the case. It turned out to be a very interesting movie Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/24 Full Review Bahad j I felt like the characters in this movie could feel the happiness and difficulties that they faced in real life. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/24/24 Full Review Charles T A very good action director teams with a big name cast to create one of the silliest political conspiracy films ever made. Bobby Bishop (Charlie Sheen) is a hot-shot special assistant to the President (Sam Waterston). He wheels, he deals, he charms, and everybody in Washington, D. C. loves him so much you expect adoption proceedings to begin. His boss, Chief of Staff Conrad (Donald Sutherland) speaks of him with both eyes twinkling, while gruff Vice President Saxon (Ben Gazzara) is put off by his shenanigans. One of Bobby's old professors escapes from a house where almost half a dozen of his colleagues are killed by one man (Stephen Lang). The professor has information for Bobby about a shadow government operating in the White House, but is killed by the assassin before he can offer any more help. Bishop is on the run, helped by spunky reporter Amanda (a miscast Linda Hamilton). Everywhere Bobby and Amanda run, the killer is close behind, until the film reveals the true members behind the conspiracy- about an hour after the viewer has figured it out. This had the makings of a first class political suspenser along the lines of "The Manchurian Candidate" or "Seven Days in May." In addition to the cast mentioned above, check out some more names from the end credits: Charles Cioffi, Nicholas Turturro, Theodore Bikel, Gore Vidal, Paul Gleason, and Terry O'Quinn. If their names are not familiar, their faces will be. This kind of experienced cast, and writer Vidal, should have known better. The script is nothing more than Hamilton and Sheen running around Washington, D. C. locations while Lang shoots at them with more ammo than Rambo's gun cabinet- and misses. Incredible holes abound in the screenplay: ace reporter Amanda's first question at a White House press conference is asked as she struts down the press corps room aisle like she was being shown to her seat at a Mets game. Even though she is a top reporter at a big D. C. paper, she has no idea the professor and others have been killed in a giant gun fight in the middle of Georgetown. Bobby and Amanda sneak into the White House, where apparently the Chief of Staff feels no need to lock his office doors. Bobby almost has the entire conspiracy recorded on tape...until he drops the evidence in the river. The finale involves the assassination of a major political figure using a remote control toy. Cosmatos shoots a crisp picture here, but he goes overboard on closeups, and matte shots- where one subject is close to the camera, there is some blurriness in the middle of the screen, and the background subject is also in focus. The music sounds like the incidental score to "Star Wars." In the face of all this goofiness, the cast is lost. Sheen enters every scene out of breath. Gazzara is so grizzled as the vice-president, I cannot imagine him on any political ticket- he makes Joe Biden and Dick Cheney appear cuddly. Waterston is vacuous as the president, why Bobby chooses to remain loyal to him is beyond me. Stephen Lang is so much better than given credit for, but he can do nothing with a bad role. "Shadow Conspiracy" is so serious in its intentions, it turns into an unintentional comedy. The cast and crew should have known better, and now you do. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/17/23 Full Review steve d dopey thriller with a terrible script. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Shadow Conspiracy

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Presidential aide Bobby Bishop (Charlie Sheen) runs into an old professor who tells him of a secret plot to assassinate the president (Sam Waterston). But before Bobby can learn anything more, his friend is shot and killed. Bobby turns to Amanda Givens (Linda Hamilton), an old friend who works as a reporter at an influential newspaper. After they uncover a conspiracy to kill many high-level government officials, they must race against time to stop a murderer.
Director
George P. Cosmatos
Producer
Terry Collis
Screenwriter
Adi Hasak, Ric Gibbs
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures, Cinergi Pictures Entertainment, Hollywood Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 31, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.3M
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Surround, SDDS, Dolby Digital
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