Capsule Review of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit I should preface this by saying I am a fairly large fan of the Jack Ryan films based on the books by Tom Clancy. While I have yet to see Sum of all Fears due to my laziness with the netflix queues and what not, I thought Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger were all great films. I have even managed to read his book Red Rabbit which is an amazing read. So going into this, my main concern was, since this is a reboot not based on one of the novels and set in the present time, if director Kenneth Branagh and co. could update the espionage aspects of the series and still keep it from going too far into the Bourne-style action territory (not that there is anything wrong with this films, but the Jack Ryan series has tend to be more of one focusing on espionage and thriller aspects and never really action centric). To my surprise, Branaghs interpretation delivers a phenomenal update to the character and keeps the tone and style of the original films. It was very much based in thriller and espionage and built suspends from it very well. And when it did get to the more action orientated parts it was very well done and generated suspense. The plot is very much something I could see being in the older films, as it deals with a Russian tycoon who plans a scheme to cause a terrorist act that will result in the collapse of the US economy and the young Ryan must go to Moscow to stop this while dealing with his own personal life. I thought the cast was great. Chris Pine does a great job as Jack Ryan and gives great emotion to the role, one notable instance being when he kills an assassin and in the aftermath he convincingly looks shaken from his experience of a fight and first kill. Keira Knightly played the role of Ryans fiancée Kathy very well and had great moments that conveyed the chemistry between her and Pine. Kevin Costner was good as Ryans mentor-esque figure in the CIA. Kenneth Branagh absolutely stole the show as the Russian tycoon Viktor Cherevin and managed to give a charismatic and villainous performance to a character who truly believes he is dont what is right for his country. Overall, a solid film that does a great job in updating the character and gives the late Tom Clancys character a well done, much welcomed return to the screen. ~Jose
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 06:05:02 +0000
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