The original Jack Ryan movies, beginning with 1990’s “The Hunt for Red October”, were both box office and critical successes, and are still considered to be some of the best spy/action films of the past 25 years. Now “Star Trek”‘s Chris Pine begins steering the ship of another reboot franchise with “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”, which adapts characters from the Tom Clancy universe, but places them in a new, origin story.
“JR:SR” begins on September 11, 2001. Jack is pursuing his doctorate degree in London when the horrific World Trade Center attacks take place. He immediately quits school and joins the military, and eventually ends-up in a rehab facility, where meets physical therapist and future girlfriend Cathy (played by Keira Knightley), and Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner), the man who provides Jack with a new career.
The story then fast-forwards another 10-years and Jack is working with Harper in the CIA. Cathy has no idea that Jack is an agent. She, like everyone else, thinks he’s a financial analyst working on Wall Street. But she starts to become suspicious. At the same time, Jack gets suspicious of some shady money moves by the Soviet government. He travels to Moscow to meet with Russian tycoon Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh) and quickly learns that there is a “clear and present danger”.
In “JR: SR”, there is no B.S. Branagh not only gives a sinisterly raw performance as Viktor but he also directs the film – constantly moving the camera to provide great 360-degree views of the action. At times this results in blurry shots and rough edits, but he’s able to pull-off the difficult chase and fight scenes with authenticity.
“Shadow Recruit” locks you in and keeps you intrigued throughout, as the characters and swerves in the script get more and more interesting. Branagh clearly knows that, in this genre, being unpredictable can be too predictable, so there are just enough surprises and layers. The necessary technical set-up is completely covered in the first half of the film – a perfect decision because it allows us to
simply sit back and enjoy the action-packed second half without any confusing twists or sub-plots. Pine, Costner, and Knightley all play it rather straight but are very convincing.
“Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is rated PG-13 for the action/violence, including mild torture, and some adult language. It’s appropriate for teens and up. This is a crisp, clean, entertaining international spy thriller that doesn’t leave you in the shadows. Fear not, Clancy fans. No games here, just some exciting storytelling that would make the late author quite proud.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” gets a B+.