The Ryan Initiative

Tom Clancy's durable creation Jack Ryan rides again in this well written (Adam Cozad and David Koepp) and well directed (Kenneth Branagh) new version – JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT. Previous actors Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck all contributed their own versions of this bright and clever and strong willed intrigue hero, but Chris Pine steps in now and may be the best choice for future incarnations of the character. He is a solid actor, maintains a boyish innocence beneath his bifurcated roles as a near PhD in Economics and as a CIA analyst. His supporting cast is essentially on target and together they make this one of the better Jack Ryan adventures to date. This is Tom Clancy's last film as a writer before his death on October 1, 2013.

The film begins when Ryan (Chris Pine) was attending the London School of Economics and 9/11 happened. He enlisted in the USMC and was assigned to Afghanistan. His helicopter was shot down and Ryan saved his comrades but suffered severe spinal injuries that would require intense rehab: in rehab he is guided by 3rd year med student Cathy (Keira Knightley) and there is a definite chemistry. While there, he is noted by a man named Harper (Kevin Costner), who works for the CIA and would like him to finish his studies and get a job on Wall Street so he can find out of any terrorist plot through their finances. A few years later, Ryan finds anomalies in the accounts of a Russian named Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh). Jack knows he should go to Russia to investigate his findings and Harper instructs him to tell no one, including his now live-in girlfriend Cathy. Cathy observes situations which make her doubt Jack's fidelity. Jack goes to Russia and Cherevin assigns him a Bodyguard (Nonso Anozie) but upon escorting Jack to his lush hotel room the bodyguard attempts of murder Jack and jack drowns him in the bathtub. Obvious Cherevin is hiding something so Jack goes to meet him, and he says he will bring his fiancé along. But Cathy shows up and Jack has to tell her the truth. Harper says Cathy has to go with Jack when she meets Cherevin. Jack doesn't want her to but Cathy says she's going. So the action begins that leads to the climax – a very fast paced, excellent chase and resolution.

Other fine actors add to the story - Colm Feore, Alec Utgoff, Lenn Kudrjawizki, Mikhail Baryshnikov among many others. The urgent musical score is the work of Patrick Doyle and the cinematography is by Haris Zambarloukos. It is interesting to see how people are mentioning subjects like Keira Knightley's teeth and Chris Pine's complexion. Both are unrelated 'flaws' in this fine little film.

This film tells the story of a economics university student, who is recruited by the CIA to fight against financial crime. He quickly stumbles upon a series of mysterious accounts when he is working undercover in a financial company, thereby uncovering a terrorism plot.

"Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" tells an thrilling story about a man having to face a Russian crook who have masterminded an elaborate terrorist plot. Though he has much support from his team, there are many occasions where danger is real and imminent. It delivers thrills and excitement, and the stylish office in Russia is pleasing to look at too. I enjoyed watching this film.

Maybe this should've been released closer to Jack Reacher. Don't get mad, I'm not comparing those too, but it might have helped this with its Box office a bit. It wouldn't have helped story wise though. Or movie wise if you will. And while this is checking many boxes, it never really achieves anything special. Keira Knightley looks good and you know where this is going with her. Even added "dialog" and some story concerning her does not really add much depth.

Kevin Branagh has played in much richer roles, though he seems to relish the fact he can be bad in this one. And he has an accent (not British that is). Solid job as does Kevin Costner who also seems to bring some gravitas to it all. The "origin" story sounded nice on paper and has some charm, that's why this is not a total misfire (no pun intended), but it never gets really good to a point where you're like: I had to watch that

What an utterly sad and offensive legacy for Tom Clancy. In Hollywood, truly, nothing is sacred.

Instead of the thought provoking, truth to power story we came to expect from a Jack Ryan movie, this brings us more of Hollywood's waronterrah porn.

It was interesting a bit back in 2002 maybe. Let it go. As propaganda, you've pretty much saturated your market. For the rest of us, you've actually made expensive CGI FX boring.

The thing that made Jack Ryan more interesting than a Steven Seagal character was he was thoughtful, intelligent, and not an action figure. And Clancy raised some fascinating dilemmas with American might and power.

What is this? Garbage.

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.