Shadow Conspiracy

Charlie Sheen plays a presidential aide who gets wind of a conspiracy at the highest levels of government and quickly finds himself targeted by the mystery villains. Loaded down by coincidences, improbabilities, and a third-rate script, the film comes across as a poor man's cross between The Firm and The X-Files. Nobody involved gets away clean, especially Sheen, who looks like a man condemned to these awful potboilers. (Remember the days of Wall Street?) But what are Gore Vidal, Theodore Bikel, and Sam Waterston doing in here? Directed by George P. Cosmatos, who has done some lousy work, for sure (Leviathan), but also some good (Tombstone). --Tom Keogh