Movie Review: "Jack Ryan" Entertains, But Lacks The Influence Of His Creator, Tom Clancy.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, and Kenneth Branagh.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and intense action, and brief strong language.

Jack Ryan is late author Tom Clancy's most prominent character. He has been brought to the big screen by the likes of Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears). Now, after more than a ten year absence, Jack Ryan is back in action in the form of Chris Pine. Shadow Recruit is an attempt to explain Ryan's origins and potentially reboot the dormant franchise.


The film is an original story that is not based on one of Clancy's novels. The story begins with Ryan studying economics in London when the tragic events of 9/11 occur which prompt him to join the Marines and serve his country. After surviving a horrible helicopter crash, Ryan is recruited by William Harper (Kevin Costner) who works for the CIA. Harper intends to place Ryan undercover as an analyst on Wall Street to keep an eye out for anyone who may be plotting against the United States. This leads Jack to investigate a powerful Russian businessman named Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh). Now, Jack must expose Cherevin as a threat to the United States while keeping his career a secret from his fiance, Cathy (Keira Knightley).

The plot is fairly simple for a Jack Ryan story, but there are some intense action scenes that we've come to expect from a spy thriller. In a world dominated by Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt, and Daniel Craig's James Bond, Jack Ryan needed to reintroduce himself to the spy genre. The film does well to entertain the audience, but does not break any new ground. The story really suffers from not using Clancy as its source material. Sure, there are elements of Ryan's past that are taken from Clancy's novels, but the story is found lacking. What set Clancy's stories apart from your typical spy thriller was the fact that the story relied on Jack Ryan's brains more than his brawn. That attempt is made here, but there seems to be more concern with putting Jack Ryan into fist fights and car chases. Clancy's stories were political dramas as much as they were political thrillers and that aspect is virtually non-existent here.

Chris Pine fits the role well and Kevin Costner is solid as Ryan's mentor. I don't have a problem with Keira Knightley's casting, but her character was misused in my opinion. Kenneth Branagh brings great arrogance to his villainous role, but never gets the opportunity to really sink his teeth into it. The action is entertaining and it makes for a good popcorn flick, but I expect more from a Clancy thriller. I'd like to see Chris Pine continue as Jack Ryan, but let's get back to using Clancy's novels as the basis for the films. There are too many great ones to ignore.

RATING: B