To me, this movie is perfection.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

My Take: Routine political thriller with mediocre action scenes and predictable twists. A rarely seen political thriller, which made a very poor box-office response, I managed to catch THE SHADOW CONSPIRACY on TV just now, and while I was glad that I satisfied my curiosity to see this rare film, I didn't exactly feel this film was all special. Considering the box-office response to it, SHADOW CONSPIRACY is not all quite as bad as critics and the public reacted to it, but still ain't very good to begin with and everything, from script to direction, is pretty predictable. Charlie Sheen plays the presidential assistant who finds himself caught up with assassins and chases (a lot of them) when he discovers a deadly conspiracy which lurks amongst the White House staff. After a professor is murdered, Sheen aids the help of ex-flame reporter Amanda Givens (Linda Hamilton) to uncover the traitor and unlock the conspiracy of the title. But this script, written by Adi Hasak & Ric Gibbs, are pedestrian as they come, not much differing from other White House conspiracy thrillers as in ABSOLUTE POWER and MURDER AT 1600. Some considerable talents (Donald Sutherland, Ben Gazzara and Stephen Lang) try their best on a routine script, but rarely saves it from predictability of the script. Not to mention a ludicrous scene which involves a toy helicopter, which seems far too silly and out-of-place in this "serious" political thriller. THE SHADOW CONSPIRACY has its moments I'm sure, some of which are much to under-appreciated (director George Pan Cosmatos serves up some decent chase scenes), but none of which lifts this routine thriller of which there's not much payoff or surprises. Rating: ** out of 5.

I would have liked to put 0.5 but unfortunately I can't. Who can write so bad scripts (I saw the movie five seconds and knew the "bad boy" would be Sutherland - needed to pay his taxes, when you see how good he was in Redford's movie, "Ordinary People" and others ! -).Though I don't like it, but I had no choice, I saw the movie in French, but I know that hearing the real voices of Sheen, Sutherland and Hamilton would have not change things, except maybe making it more pitiful.What makes me sick is that people earn their living making this bad stuff (I forgot to speak about Mr Waterson, far away from the Woody Allen's movies he once used to play in).We had another movie on another French channel : a silly James Bond with Brosnan (I am not talking about the real Bonds with Connery(please it's the end of holidays, wake up !).

In the first third of the film, homages to Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock kept me entertained. The second and third portions of the film grow progressively worse.*** spoilers ***Similarities to "The Man Who Knew Too Much": - "Bernard is murdered ... but before he dies he manages to reveal details of an assassination ..." Similarities to "North by Northwest": fleeing from relentless killersMore Noir: Giant shadow in the alleyway where Bobby flees, cast by light from burning trash barrels. The musical score swells in true 1940s-50s melodramatic style. Sparks illuminate the interior of the (power plant? sewage plant?) The back-lit figure comes down the stone stairs when Bobby is phoning Jake (Donald Sutherland). Shades of Welles. "Touch of Evil" is seen listed on the Georgtown Theatre marquee, after the sniper attempt on Bobby's life. Bobby tries to bug/eavesdrop on a corrupt conversation taking place on the waterfront, but has technical difficulties, much like Charleton Heston in Touch of Evil.Landmarks - half-buried Poseidon(?) statue is a little like the statue of Liberty scene in Saboteur (1942).Altogether an enjoyable B Movie to catch on cable some night. Worth it for the cast, score and some of the cinematography.Weaknesses: OK, the UAV attack on the president, while before its time, came off as silly. The helicopter looks too much like a toy to be menacing, and is easily brought down by a clump of party balloons. If the assassin could get such a large package into the room, why not bring a bomb? How does Jake get into the banquet hall with the pistol? Weren't there metal detectors in 1997? Also weak and inexplicable is the cracker motorcyclist who appears from nowhere, and chases Bobby through the subway station. If they were going that far over the top, why not have the villain drive down the escalator, instead of the stairs? Sam Waterston, engaging in Law and Order, and effective in The Killing Fields (1984), phones in a shrill monotone here, especially in his first scene in the oval office with Sheen. Donald Sutherland has done better with similar characters in Commander and Chief (2005, TV), and JFK (as Mister X).Having assembled a remarkable cast, beautiful score, and so many allusions to great Noir scenes, why does George Cosmatos leave out so many critical plot points? Who are the "Shadow Conspiracy"? At one point, Hamilton mentions that they tap phones and monitor politicians for signs of corruption. Sounds more like a public service than a menace. What was the content of the president's speech, which would have been so earth-shattering? Make us care.Why does Charlie Sheen always hook up with older women in these B-Movies? Linda Hamilton is nearly a decade his senior, and Lindsay Crouse (the archaeologist in The Arrival) was born in 1948, *seventeen years* older than Sheen! Perhaps after the sex scandals, they feared the liability involved in casting him opposite young starlets. Chuckle. Linda Fiorentino, in "Beyond the Law", is 5 years older. Nastassja Kinski, born 1959, appeared opposite Sheen in "Terminal Velocity (1994).

If one realizes that George Cosmatos meant this story to be told as a '70s style "B" thriller, you will enjoy this movie for its acurate portrayal. When I first tuned to this movie I assumed I was watching somthing from 1977. Only when I saw the age of the famous actors (and the cell phone) did I realize it was set in 1997. The details of style are depicted perfectly, from the split screen focus for foreground and back, to the assasin having 2 different color eyes. The acting is said to be poor, but instead I say it was edited with poorer takes to remain true to the "B" movie genre. If you enjoyed "Patriot Games" or "Pelican Brief" you may feel this story is shallow and weak. I was rivited to this story front to back.