Cuba Gooding Jr&James Caan give the only good performances in this movie,though they look like they're in agony on account of the awful screenplay.

Strangely,I've sat through this movie TWICE.It's so bad it's engrossing.

Matthew Modine,who was once a rising star in the '90s,is now on this straight-to-video dud.He plays a hitman trying to reform his life--and it's as melodramatic&unconvincing as church musicals about people giving their lives to God.

The gangsters are campy enough to have John Waters as their padrone.The premise-a stuntman?-whose death must be avenged is ridiculous,as is the unconvincing romance between Modine&his squeaky-voiced ladylove (she sounds like Disney's Snow White)The ending is ENDLESSLY drawn out,so like the hero you want to cry out,"Just shoot me!"

A talented cast and some sharp direction elevate IN THE SHADOWS to a very entertaining, if somewhat somber, film. Matthew Modine stars as a hitman "with a conscience" who ends up on trial because he didn't kill the only witness to his latest hit. The family however gets him out with a crooked judge and give him a new assignment: James Caan. Caan plays a stunt coordinator who takes the blame when one of his stuntmen (who also happens to be a mobster himself)dies during a dangerous stunt. His uncle (veteran Val Avery) wants Modine to off Caan, but not until the uncle himself recovers from bypass surgery. (He wants to be there for the hit). So Modine goes to Miami to case Caan out and initiates contact by "bumping into" Caan's lovely daughter (a whispy and effective Joey Lauren Adams). Mixed into this bag is Cuba Gooding Jr. as a Fed agent undercover as a drug dealer. Seems the dead mobster/stuntman refused to pay Gooding for a drug deal and got off with both the money and the drugs. So while waiting to off Caan, Modine is given the job of getting rid of Gooding. Of course what complicates all this is Modine falls in love with Adams and develops a close almost fatherly relationship with Caan, and even becomes a good stuntman. The ending is unavoidable, but tragic in a poignant fashion.
Modine is coolly effective in his out of character role and it's to his credit that we develop a sympathy for this cold-blooded killer who suddenly discovers the important things in life: love and family. Caan is excellent as always, and Adams does a commendable job. Gooding does his role, but doesn't overly impress as he isn't given a lot of screen time. Stuntman Scott Waugh does a good job as Graham, Caan's right-hand man.
IN THE SHADOWS is not the usual mobster fare, and it's message is clear and denouement poetically just.

The whole movie up the end was great, but just when I think this hit man is finally gonna get his chance to a normal life style, he dies. His death was a big blow for me as I waited up late to watch it and then the ending was like a real bad disapointment for me. He fought so well and then went out like nothing. Bad ending, I was mad!

Now and then movies turn up on the shelves of a video store with a case that has good graphics, a cast that looks first rate and a brief description of an interesting story line. On the off chance that you just missed the ads of the theatrical release, you rent it, watch it and make a discovery. Such is the case for this fine little film. With a cast that includes James Caan (in one of his better roles!), Matthew Modine ( in an out of character part), Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Joey Lauren Adams, this is a tale of a hit man who pursues his career because he has no family and has never felt as though he belongs. Without sacrificing the considerable suspense the writer of this script provides, suffice it to say that his ultimate hit assignment results in a turnaround of his value system and offers a restored vision of what life can be like when true 'family' is discovered.
The photography is sensitive, creative, and moody. The story involves the behind the scenes information of the stunt man's lifestyle. The performances are uniformly fine. No soft pedaling here, the life of high crime is brutally presented. But the direction and acting make this realistic depiction of mob mania a credible background for the talents of those involved in telling a gripping tale. Very much worth your time.

This was not the best love story I've seen, not the best movie about a hit man and not the best movie about the mob. But it was a good movie. Surprisingly entertaining.

Matthew Modine plays a hit man, without feeling who falls in love with the stunt man he is supposed to kill. The stunt man is marked for death because of an accident the mob holds him responsible for. But the emotionless hit man falls in love with "the marks" daughter and soon understands what he has been missing in life.

This movie had some high powered stars, James Caan, Matthew Modine and Cuba Gooding Jr (who plays a federal agent acting as a drug dealer). Lots of good acting and a nice portrayal of the metamorphosis of a person.

I had never heard of this movie and took a chance based on the cover and the local rental store, a nice find I must say. Not a lot of twists and turns but some action and it was enjoyable and interesting.