Mikey and Rose are professional assassins. They are also lovers, and once upon a time Rose also knew Mikey's father. During an elaborate hit job for a malicious gangster, Rose fails to kill the main target, the gangster's pregnant girlfriend. Instead, she delivers her baby and convinces Mikey to help her protect them both. As Rose weakens from cancer, Mikey becomes breadwinner for this unusual family. But tranquility will not last.
It tells a story that would fit perfectly in a standard Hollywood action thriller, but it tells it in the grammar and syntax of an art film. The two sensibilities make no sense together.
– Richard Nilsen,
Arizona Republic,
3 Aug 2006
rotten:
It ... has an insistently fussy and grandiose production design that mistakes lavish textures, brilliant colors and exotic backdrops for story atmosphere and style.
– Tom Keogh,
Seattle Times,
4 Aug 2006
rotten:
The one thing I'll say about Shadowboxer is that it's never boring. Of course, I could also say that about stepping on crushed glass.
– Richard Roeper,
Ebert & Roeper,
7 Aug 2006
rotten:
Gosh, it's almost too bad/good to be true.
– Rick Groen,
Globe and Mail,
25 Aug 2006
rotten:
Thumbs down to a movie of such vile and violent temper.