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SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) – After the success of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, adventures with couples of special agents have become fashionable, almost forming a new trend. Now, “Shadow Force: Death Sentence,” showing in Brazilian cinemas, adds a cute little boy as the child of the spies and thus advances this sub-genre to a new level.
The young actor Jahleel Kamara is truly a revelation. Still very small, he acted freely on set and required a lot of quick thinking from his parents on screen. Two names that fans of streaming series know very well: Kerry Washington, star of “Scandal,” a political behind-the-scenes drama with seven successful seasons between 2012 and 2018, and Omar Sy, star of “Lupin,” a Netflix hit that will have its third season this year.
The actress is also the producer of the film, directed by Joe Carnahan. “In fact, I had been looking for a while for a way to return to action movies. It’s a type of work that I like doing and I know I’m capable of doing it well,” says Washington, in an interview alongside Sy.
And I specifically liked this project because it’s not just a spy movie. It’s fundamentally a story about a family. It’s a beautiful story about love and sacrifices. It’s about doing anything to protect the people you love.
She refers to the couple Kyrah and Issac, agents who leave their job at a secret unit and have to go into hiding. Their former boss offers a reward for their heads. They start living in secret, with false identities, and try to take care of their son, Ky.
The actress talks about making sacrifices for the people she loves, and that’s what happens with Kyrah, who stays away from her husband and son for years to make it harder for them to be found. But one day, the father and son are at a bank that is robbed by thieves. With Ky in danger, Isaac uses his skills to kill the whole gang.
The bank’s security video goes viral on social networks with the scenes of the fight, and thus the vengeful ex-boss of the couple now knows where to hunt them. So the family reunites again, and a cat-and-mouse game begins.
The scene on the bench could be a cliché in this type of movie. Alone, the hero with clean hands deals with a group of villains. But there is innovation in the way this is told on screen. The scene is shown from the boy’s perspective.
You can use action movie clichés, but you have to find a different groove, a unique way to retell these scenes,” says Sy. “I think the solution is very good.” Washington adds, “Showing the scene focused on what the boy is watching makes the message about why we are fighting stronger.
He and the boy share funny and exciting scenes. “He’s a great kid. Small, very cute, and it’s so easy to work with him because you don’t have to pretend to love him, he’s adorable,” says the actor.
“The audience doesn’t know how much the two of them improvised in the scenes. Omar built an incredible and affectionate father-son relationship. It was very special. I started to see the two of them as if they were each other’s mirrors,” says Washington.
A movie of this genre depends on good fight and chase scenes to work. “Shadow Force” invests in several of them, with good results. In one of them, the couple gets into a discussion about their relationship, which turns into a hand-to-hand fight, choreographed to look very violent.
Would the actors recommend something like couple’s therapy? “Absolutely not!” the actress answers, and both of them burst into laughter. “That is very well trained, we exactly know what we are doing. No violence, especially for very competitive couples. We know many such couples, don’t we?”
American magazines covering cinema have reported that Kerry Washington performed many physical action scenes, without using stunt doubles. They even called her “a disciple of Tom Cruise.” “I am a witness. Kerry did almost everything herself!” Sy reveals. She admits that this happened “sometimes.”
We had great stunt performers in the production, but it’s important for us to do as many scenes as possible on our own. But it’s not about showing what we’re capable of, or trying to be tough. It’s important because it’s part of the character’s experience that we are building. Yes, it’s true, I used to fight with my stunt performer to do the scenes when she was already ready to replace me.
The question regarding a sequence is inevitable for the actress and producer. “Only the public’s response will tell. I would love it. We really form a team, I think there is still a lot to explore with these characters.”
SHADOW FORCE – DEATH SENTENCE
When On the movie theater screen
16 years old
Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong
Production United States, 2025
Direction Joe Carnahan
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