Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

From what I read in the credits, this is based on the characters created by Clancy, and it seems to have the right idea, and a very talented writer to set the basis for it. Chris Pine has done great work as Kirk in the "Star Trek' newest reincarnation, and I was a bit hesitant to accept him in this new role. Then I thought if Harrison Ford had managed to embody three or four of cinema's most interesting action characters, Pine had at least a good chance. Pine does very well in live interviews and is a decent actor, very charismatic. Ford is great on screen even though he's not the most exciting interviewee. The premise might work. Then I saw that Brannagh would helm the picture and costar in it, with a little help from another interesting actor, Costner. He started as the double-spy in "No Way Out" and did well. There's a dark side to him, so I figured he would do well as CIA operative. The film seemed to be moving well. "Shadow Recruit" has Pine working as financial CIA agent who discovers some rather covert manipulations of the market. He knows he has to travel to Moscow in order to set things straight. Somehow it was never explained to him that he might have to face bullets, race cars, and endanger his life. After a brief introduction which lets us know how he is recruited and gives us a bit of moral background, Pine is off and running all over Moscow, facing the film's archenemy, his fiancé, and some really bad traffic in Moscow. The film has good pacing, and the effects are pretty decent. Yet, there is a bit missing the target. It might be the underdeveloped villain, and the whole complicated situation which combines the financial maneuvering with the possibility of very lethal damage to a big metropolis. It works best when our hero tries to avoid elimination, or he's trying to stop someone from hurting him or his wife. It's a January film, so there might not have been much expected from it, and if it develops into its own franchise, it has a strong likelihood it will succeed. Pine has very good chemistry with his co-star. I hope they come back.

I had very low expectations going into this film. The trailer made it look like a very typical action film that would possibly have a plot twist in it to keep us interested. Typical it was. Plot twist? Nope. I was bored the entire time. The plot is straight forward. A super intelligent former marine, war hero, who recovered from a wound he acquired saving his fellow marines, becomes an analyst for the CIA. He stumbles upon a terrorist plot straight out of the Cold War, and then gets thrown into the mix, becomes a field agent overnight, and saves America. At no point are you trying to figure out what is going on? Who is the villain? Who is behind the plot? What is the plot? The answers to these questions are all handed to us on a silver platter. I was left with other questions, addressing the gaping plot holes. Why did the King of Qarth try killing Jack Ryan? How did the bad guys already know he was after them? Why didn't they send more people when he didn't return? How did the FBI already know about a sleeper agent? Why wasn't the plot uncovered earlier if Chris Pine, Kiera Knightly and Kevin Costner can piece it together in 5 minutes on a plane? Why didn't the Sleeper agent stab Chris Pine when he had the chance...twice? I am glad I didn't have to pay to see this. Don't waste your money. It isn't even worthy of a casual viewing because you are bored and don't want to think. Watch S.W.A.T. instead.

It's ironic that "Jack Ryan" is part of the title for this one because this is the furthest from the character that any of the films have been. Beyond a some what similar back-story, the doctor soon to be wife, and that he works for the CIA, Ryan is not Ryan. They turn him more into a spy/field agent than the brainy analyst that he's meant to be. As a result, there is nothing in this movie that makes it stand out from the rest of it's genre. It's just another spy movie with an over the top villain that's plotting world domination. It's predictable and generic. They sacrificed what made the Jack Ryan character unique. I'm not saying that the movie didn't work as some Bond/Bourne/Mission Impossible wannabe with bits and pieces slapped together from every spy thriller ever made. It captured successful elements from those films pretty well. It's just a shame that they relied on recycling tired and over used narrative when there is still a bunch of great Ryan books that they have yet to adapt. There should be no reason to slap together this films story when a much more talented writer like Clancy still has more stories to draw from. I agree with Peter Travers comment "It's a product constructed out of spare parts and assembled with computerized precision." Despite following a predictable formula very closely instead of the source material, the movie still works as entertainment. Chris Pine is great, despite the writers failing him, and he really carries the movie. He could be a great Jack Ryan if they actually wrote the character correctly. Branagh delivers a pretty good villain, even though he's more suited for a Bond film. There are a couple of scenes that deliver good suspense. It's just not a Jack Ryan movie. It seems that they only used Jack Ryan for the brand name rather than faithfully trying to tell a story about him.

In 2002 the underwhelming The Sum of All Fears - with Ben Affleck in the lead role - put the Ryan franchise in the morgue. 12 years on and the famous CIA analyst is back on the big screen with a brand new story and a fresh face. Perhaps they should've waited another dozen years, as this reboot is utterly forgettable and offers nothing in the way of originality or inventiveness. The action has no pulse, the plot is straight out of 1980 and there's no thriller element to keep you guessing as the "Trust No One" tagline on the poster would suggest; which is all a shock when you consider Kenneth Branagh was at the helm and his last effort Thor, was such a gleefully entertaining motion picture. It also doesn't help that the latest incarnation of Jack Ryan, as portrayed by Chris Pine, has about as much charisma as a tree. Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner and Branagh are serviceable as love interest, mentor and villain respectively, however there's little any of them can do to boost the excitement levels. It's not a bad movie per se, just a run- of-the-mill affair you'll struggle to remember after the end credits.

This reboot feels like a knockoff similar to A Good Day To Die Hard. Both have chase scenes in Moscow and both were made relatively cheaply, well this one even more so. What disappointed me most was the attention to detail that Clancy was always famous for. A great deal is smoothed over to forward the plot in it's brisk pace. Previous Ryan films were capable of bringing depth to the peril and stakes as the players made their moves. Where previous Ryan films had large political stakes that brought real tension, the stakes here seem to be more economic than fear for great loss and limb, although the third act implies some mayhem. In general you can't really compare this cheap knockoff to a minor tent pole film that has a big enough budget to have a larger scope and sexier action scenes. The car chase is too generic in jump camera shots, etc. to feel much tension. But other spy thriller moments do thrill, so I will give this film enough credit to deliver on some of the goods. Another unflattering comparison is the Bourne Legacy reboot. It also suffered from lack of budget for a decent action punch. Pine as Ryan is less inspired for me. Perhaps because his face has been seen quite a bit lately, or his characterisation has less depth. Same goes for the mentor character played by Kevin Costner. There is too little meat to chew on. A better move would have added a few more wrinkles (not necessarily plot twists), such as more than just a few shots of the terrorism plot brewing in the United States. I would support a sequel to this reboot if a better budget with some more meat pieces, and a story that is fleshed out better. I believe director Branagh is a capable but not exceptional director, and some scenes slightly miss the mark. The overall slick look that is also a trademark to Ryan films is missing here, although the production design is not lacking. My final analysis is that this is a film not based on a Tom Clancy novel that is an average of 900 pages of background, substance, and real drama. That lack of depth makes this thriller too transparent.

I am not the most discriminating of action film viewers, avid reader of Clancy and his designated batters and thought Chris Pine did a wonderful job on the Star Trek films. That said, this film was a load of rubbish....one of the few times that I seriously considered walking out mid-film. The reasons: 1. Acting was wooden across the board and the selection of Keira Knightly as Dr. Cathy Ryan was abysmally bad; 2. Plot (contrary to some of the views I read) was non-existent and farcical. Unlike a good Clancy novel, no basis in reality; 3. There is one scene that is particularly ridiculous. All I will ask an intelligent viewer, do you ever think a Russian oligarch worth billions would seriously consider going out to dinner with a compliance officer. I would seriously not bother going to see this film or even bother it renting it. In short, even if someone gave me free tickets with dinner included, I would now pass on the "opportunity."

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I did give up 36 minutes in. Forgive me. I am old and have seen some 4500 movies. What I did see did not portend a satisfying experience. Keira was the real reason I even entertained the idea of watching this. She IS NOT A SUPPORTING ACTRESS. Especially in a film like this. So, yeah, I didn't like this movie.