Oscar Shaw (2026)
When Darkness Falls, A Hero Emerges.
If I can’t give you tonal whiplash with the different movies I choose week to week, then your entertainment boat must be a super-yacht baby. Anyway, tonight we take step away from the triple Bs and racist shark riding zombies and swap into a potentially more dangerous but way more believable scenario - the drug and violence prone streets. For the first time in a while, the cuz has time to attend a movie night so we are doing a little celebrating with one of his favorite actors - old Michael Jai White. Of course, I mean old in the “classic dependable” sense not as in the he’s getting old sense, because although the man is older than me if you did a side by side he’s in way better shape in probably every measurable regard than I am regardless of how much younger I may be. I have no idea how to pull off a great segue with this one, but when criminals mess with the wrong man they have to answer to Oscar Shaw.
Not a bad attempt, even if it probably lacks some flair. Our story is a relatively simple one tonight, and folks who’ve seen some cop procedurals or movies will probably be able to play out most of it in their heads before the screen gets there. Still, it goes something like this: drug gangs are roughing the town up, but when they kill an ex-cop’s brother in arms, they are about to find out they may have bitten off more then they could chew. Go on a journey of respect and revenge, and try not to ruin the would-be plot twists for your friends who are a bit slower to figure things out! Honestly, that’s really it - it has enough story that I do feel like it’s doing what it can to work out it’s theming and message for the thinking folks, but it’s somewhat restrained approach to everything assures that it won’t be as bombastic as rival cop movies like Bad Boys or Lethal Weapon.
Acting is alright. I get the feeling from the movie that although it’s trying to be serious, it’s also trying to be a little light hearted and goofy at times, and in turn I don’t really feel like the acting is badly done here. That said, our head of the force is arguably woefully cartoon character whenever he is on screen, and some of the folks (particularly whenever anyone is dying) can feel perhaps a bit subdued or wooden with their performance. Again, I wouldn’t call it bad - largely because I’ve seen truthfully bad - but I would also say that outside of one or two actors there really isn’t a stand out pocket of performances in this one. Considering the simplicity of the story though, I wouldn’t write off that everyone isn’t acting as intended either.
Characters are somewhere. For the grand majority of everyone on screen, they are just there. Actors do enough of a job that you can usually catch on to a character not being all as presented long before the movie comes out and says it - but I don’t know if I’d say anything here is really an arc. I guess maybe we could play that the main character ends up more at peace by the end, or more focused and that wouldn’t really be wrong by any means - but at the very start of the movie he isn’t exactly in a spot where he isn’t peaceful about the everyday going on, and you could argue that he is way less violent considering the body count he racks up across the center of the movie.
Costumes are standard modern affair. That said, our lead wears some quite dapper suits, and in my head I like to think I similarly look as smoldering and refined when I clean up. There isn’t really anything outlandish here in the costume department - in all honesty, the lead’s dress attire is probably the most rogue feeling costume in the movie - but it all does get across what it’s aiming for be it thug or cop or resident. Settings are likewise modern and normal - stuff like a bar, a house, the streets. It’s varied enough that the movie never feels like it’s taking place in a single location, but none of it is really going to break out as a memorable set piece that dressed to impress.
Action is here in brief stints. When it crops up, it’s usually quite quick (making use of the leads hard earned skills), but also clearly shot so there isn’t really any confusion. In fairness, I usually feel like I would end up with more action in a movie staring the lead, but he’s had plenty a role over time so it’s not like the only thing he is good at is action. You might be surprised by the rating (or lack there-of if you look on IMDB), but there is actually some gun violence in the movie. Plenty of folks get what I will call “non-violently” shot - as in we might get a little sauce pack on there but it’s nowhere near the amount of detail or impact as you would get in most modern action. Really, I think most that rating comes from the more drug-oriented themes as well as the variety of language, including things I couldn’t repeat without getting in a lot of trouble for it.
Audio is well balanced. Soundtrack isn’t really my jam, but it fits the mood and at times the lyrics attach well to the subject matter. In typical me fashion, the music is gone from my head by the end anyway, so even with it not being my jam there isn’t anything I disliked so much that it pulled me out of the movie and I recall it. For the thinking folks, there’s probably the most here but I’m not sure at what level it would be appreciated. On the one hand, it’s not exactly hiding any of it’s messages about drugs, gangs, cops, corruption, revenge, peace, or respect. It’s all there, and probably some stuff about prejudice as well I’m sure - but I also don’t feel like any of it feels really all that impactful given the nice swiftness of the movie. Could be that it’s just become such common talking points that it’s taken on an almost expected feel for a movie like this and that it weakening the punch more so than anything the movie is doing - but I’m not really sure because I don’t generally do that much thinking.
It’s an alright movie. I would say there’s a plethora of MJW flicks that top it in entertainment, quality, or depth but it’s also not bad. It can feel a bit TV movie because of the violence and some of the acting, but that’s not a horrible thing necessarily. I’ve seen far worse performances out of well known actors then I have most the folks in this movie, so although it might not be blowing any minds it works fine as a quick cop-style movie to watch if you are in that kind of mood.