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The protagonist is used to never asking questions and doing his duty, including when he worked for the FBI. But he's out for the future of his granddaughter, and now he's ready to shed light on the truth that concerns the government itself.

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The sudden death of a congressional candidate reveals a shadowy conspiracy among FBI agents eliminating their opponents. An elderly Travis Block (Liam Neeson), plagued by paranoia, works for the FBI as an unofficial agent and delves into the dark games of the secret service. He gets involved with Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith), a young agent who seeks to expose the conspiracy and tell the truth about corruption and contract killings to local reporter Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lamman). The FBI director (Aidan Quinn) feels threatened and is willing to go to any lengths to thwart the revelations.

Having begun his action-hero career in his sixth decade, Liam Neeson hasn't stopped since, experiencing various incarnations of a retired military man - starring, one might say, in the same movie. "Shadow Game" is the second work in tandem with director Mark Williams ("The Honest Thief"): the 69-year-old actor takes up arms again and uses his combat tools in an attempt to defend the truth. With each new work, Neeson's performance looks more and more desperate as the British star finds it increasingly difficult to go for risky stunts - the recent releases of "The Advocate" and "Ice Drive" serve as sure proof of that. Williams' new picture hasn't gone far from "The Honest Thief," which was more like a slapstick TV show in its scope - "Shadow Game" is made from roughly the same test, but with an emphasis on political intrigue, twisted into a corruption spiral in the higher echelons. A retired professional, it is not difficult to guess, once again have to run, shoot and in between to save his daughter and granddaughter, who were attacked by villains.

All of this, of course, was exciting and entertaining up to a point, until action films (with Neeson included) turned into a rudimentary and, frankly, dead genre. "Game of Shadows" easily fits into the scheme of a straightforward action film about espionage and exposure: there's a troubled hero in his seventh decade, either an incorrigible paranoid man who harasses his family with his fears, or a careful professional who knows firsthand the darker sides of political elites and secret service agents. There's a straightforward investigation, necessary to mesh several plot blocks, which at first move scattered and inaudible - only by the climax you can figure out what's what (unless, of course, you lose steam by the second hour). For the tick, there's a bit of action drive, represented by a couple of shootouts and car chases, so clumsy that without them the reputation of "Game of Shadows" would have looked much more sane. It all melts into some kind of critical array toward American power, centered not in the White House but in the workings of the gray cardinals. This paranoid-conspiracy discourse underpins the entire plot of Game of Shadows, whose most pressing issues (primarily the question of power) are dealt with by trivial firearms.

The idealistic pursuit of truth, the zeal with which journalists dig into the shadowy intrigues of the FBI, is at one point cut off at the root: the film ceases to be a story about the influence and struggle of the fourth estate, and degenerates into a clichéd "bash." Neeson's character can't fight in the name of the idea of justice alone, so the plot finds a dubious but understandable foothold: the freelance agent's family is kidnapped - now the fight has quite clear motives. Revealing the truth about the crimes of the secret services (the elimination of political opponents and obstacles in the form of honest journalists), the plot does not so much gain in intrigue and adventurism, but it sinks even deeper: the script reveals its total incompetence. Where it could have been a thoughtful political thriller about a conspiracy and government surveillance, it's an empty and lethargic product with no momentum or energy, only the crunching of joints and the wheezing of a veteran. There are no memorable scenes in this cold, scrubbed-out action movie (the final fight ends with a mediocre car chase!), and Neeson refuses to step out of his comfort zone and switch to acting autopilot mode for something more serious.

"Shadow Game" is a lifeless and frankly unsuccessful entry that attempts to play on the country's burning issues. It is a story about an America defeated by the media, where Donald Trump's political fate is decided by Twitter and where the intelligence services try to regain control and power by resorting to the dirtiest of forceful methods. But this concept is met with a tedious realization: Williams' action film lacks poignancy, scope and a bolder approach to the arsenal - the film feels like it's made from a pile of material, coached from proven genre stalwarts but not assembled into something digestible. And about Neeson... The most apt remark is left in one scene, when a minor character insists that it's time for the elderly agent to quit his dangerous job. "No, not an option," Neeson replies. That means we're in for a whole series of adventures from a 69-year-old actor who stubbornly refuses to retire and shackle his gun. Maybe now is the best time to pay attention to his colleagues' recommendations.