Shadow Company (2007)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 1,176
My Rating
Movie Info
Filmmakers Jason Bourque and Nick Bicanic explore the trend of private militaries around the world in this documentary examining the increasingly blurred distinction between soldier and mercenary. In a time when powerful multinational corporations are contracting private mercenaries to fight wars, the risks of allowing profit-motivated conglomerates to outsource war are chilling. Who do these private armies answer to, and what are the motivations of their financers? The private military draws in
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Gerard Butler
Narrator -
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (14) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)
Shadow Company provides a pretty thorough examination of the unknown soldiers doing a lot of the heavy lifting there, outside the conventional rules of warfare.
Top CriticDrawing a line between official and unofficial forces is irrelevant since both are paid with our taxes, Shadow Company throws light on that bottom line in the war on terror.
Though it offers interesting stories, Shadow Company does feel a little scattered.
Shadow Company is a lesson in how to get audiences who know little and care even less about the Iraq War to sit up and pay attention.
There isn't as much exposé as you might expect in Shadow Company, but there's considerably more thoughtfulness.
Shadow Company attempts to provide a balanced view of a potentially polarizing issue, interviewing historians, security firm heads, war journalists, and former contractors themselves (the Army declined).
This documentary touching on both the historical evolution and contemporary phenomenon of mercenaries feels uncomfortably like a promotional campaign for private security firms, as they're more euphemistically termed.
Should be seen by anyone who still romanticizes war, the troops, or the stated motives behind any sort of military conflict.
[A] fascinating, evenhanded documentary.
Contrary to the popular image of the gung-ho cowboy contractors, they can and do take into account ethical frameworks.
If the film is engaged in some sort of screen spin regarding the dubious history of mercenaries, or a whitewashing of their activity in Iraq, the ongoing deplorable destruction and death visited upon that nation, on the contrary, speaks for itself.
Beneficiado por entrevistados com vasta experiência em uma indústria pouco conhecida do público em geral, o documentário traça um retrato alarmante e informativo sobre a atividade de mercenários no Iraque e em outras regiões do planeta.
A fascinating documentary, shining some needed light on the individuals who are called upon more and more to take fill in the gaps left by a diminished standing military.
Audience Reviews for Shadow Company
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Shadow Company yet.
What's Hot On RT
The Last Stand, Side Effects
Trailer for new Coen Bros movie
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
- Digital Multiplex: Warm Bodies and Aftershock 4
- Discover the Best-Reviewed Films in Summer Movie Scorecard 2013 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects 16
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Star Trek Softer Than Expected at #1 85
- Weekly Ketchup: Will Smith to Star in Wild Bunch Remake? 39
- Critics Consensus: Star Trek Into Darkness is Certified Fresh 107
Top Headlines
-
Which Film Franchise Has Been the Best for Female Characters?
2
-
Damon Lindelof Talks Tomorrowland
0
-
10 Movies About Really Fast Cars
0
-
Poltergeist Remake Synopsis Hints at Plot Differences
6
-
Kristen Wiig Says Welcome to Me
1
-
David Fincher's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Gets Bumped
0
-
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance Remake in the Works
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
According to "Shadow Company," a lot of military contactors act as bodyguards and security personnel in potentially hostile situations.(For this reason, one commentator deems them as evil, since they potentially keep away things from people who might badly need them.) Their stock price, unlike most other businesses, went through the roof after 9/11 and they do a steady business in Iraq, even replacing some departing coalition troops, where an "accountability gap" also exists.(Contractors were killed in Fallujah because the insurgents thought they were CIA.) As some contractors testify, cowboy tactics are frowned upon, as training in the rules of engagement are provided, especially when dealing with the military. And mercenaries overthrowing third world governments is total fantasy, as the situation in Equatorial Guinea proved once and for all.