STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Updating the Jack Ryan character to modern times somewhat, here we have Ryan (Chris Pine) as a young man when the 9/11 terror attacks strike whilst studying at the London School of Economics. Compelled to make the world a safer place, Ryan enlists in military service, only to suffer near mortal injuries during a helicopter attack. Whilst struggling to recuperate, and beginning a budding romance with Cathy (Keira Knightley), the nurse helping him back to his feet, Ryan is approached by CIA hotshot Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner), who recruits him as a financial analyst. When he notices some unexplainable financial records in the file of Russian industrialist Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh), it sets him on the trail of a plot to launch a terrorist attack on American soil before crippling the United States economy.
The late Tom Clancy's most well known and formidable creation, Jack Ryan, obviously enjoys enough of a cult following for this modern day update of his back story and adventures to justify it's existence. Which is just as well, as it ranks among the more cerebral and fulfilling of the more recent big screen adaptations. With Pine, the current go to man for filling the shoes of actors in the same role decades before, forming an effective leading man, and a vibrant mix of more modern and old school performers in the main roles, Jack Ryan:Shadow Recruit is a slick, polished affair that scores far more hits than misses and serves as a sleek, impressive production all round.
It might be a fair guess to estimate that Kenneth Branagh must be a fan of the books, crawling back out the woodwork after some time away to not only play the villain, but also serve on directing duties. Ken can always be relied on to pull off a professional effort when starring and directing, and if anyone had forgotten that, this assures a new generation of his competency. He's got every detail just right, right down to his fine Russian accent, as well as handling an intelligent, well thought out script that shines a light on the thin threads that hold our stability and democracy together in these turbulent, uncertain times, and all the work the government agencies must do to insure this.
As much as the thinking man's action thriller as it is, somehow all the components to raise it that one benchmark higher to excellent aren't quite there, and there is not quite enough dynamism behind the hero and the villain and the end outcome to really get the emotions running. But in a time when any meaningless pap seems to do, this has to be admired for being a more solid , demanding adventure. ***
Updating the Jack Ryan character to modern times somewhat, here we have Ryan (Chris Pine) as a young man when the 9/11 terror attacks strike whilst studying at the London School of Economics. Compelled to make the world a safer place, Ryan enlists in military service, only to suffer near mortal injuries during a helicopter attack. Whilst struggling to recuperate, and beginning a budding romance with Cathy (Keira Knightley), the nurse helping him back to his feet, Ryan is approached by CIA hotshot Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner), who recruits him as a financial analyst. When he notices some unexplainable financial records in the file of Russian industrialist Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh), it sets him on the trail of a plot to launch a terrorist attack on American soil before crippling the United States economy.
The late Tom Clancy's most well known and formidable creation, Jack Ryan, obviously enjoys enough of a cult following for this modern day update of his back story and adventures to justify it's existence. Which is just as well, as it ranks among the more cerebral and fulfilling of the more recent big screen adaptations. With Pine, the current go to man for filling the shoes of actors in the same role decades before, forming an effective leading man, and a vibrant mix of more modern and old school performers in the main roles, Jack Ryan:Shadow Recruit is a slick, polished affair that scores far more hits than misses and serves as a sleek, impressive production all round.
It might be a fair guess to estimate that Kenneth Branagh must be a fan of the books, crawling back out the woodwork after some time away to not only play the villain, but also serve on directing duties. Ken can always be relied on to pull off a professional effort when starring and directing, and if anyone had forgotten that, this assures a new generation of his competency. He's got every detail just right, right down to his fine Russian accent, as well as handling an intelligent, well thought out script that shines a light on the thin threads that hold our stability and democracy together in these turbulent, uncertain times, and all the work the government agencies must do to insure this.
As much as the thinking man's action thriller as it is, somehow all the components to raise it that one benchmark higher to excellent aren't quite there, and there is not quite enough dynamism behind the hero and the villain and the end outcome to really get the emotions running. But in a time when any meaningless pap seems to do, this has to be admired for being a more solid , demanding adventure. ***