Código sombra: Jack Ryan

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

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.

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.

Jack Ryan: nine novels (15 if you include the Jack Ryan Jr series), five films, four lead actors (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck & now Chris Pine) and two reboots. Tom Clancy's best-known character has endured and enjoyed a varied existence to say the least.

Intended as the second reimagining, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, is more a rebirth of the Marine turned CIA agent turned world-saving, death-defying, awe-inspiring, all American hero. Forget the books, ignore the timeline, disengage the brain, abandon reason, slice the pizza, sip the beer and settle down for a mindless romp. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is predictable fun with barely a toe in the world of reality but it is fun just as long as you forget to think.

Jack Ryan (Pine) is a student at the London School of Economics when terrorists fly two aeroplanes into the World Trade Centre towers. 9/11 prompts Ryan to make a career about-turn and join the Marines. Fast forward a few years and Ryan is undergoing intense rehab in a military hospital having barely survived after a chopper he was aboard was shot down in Afghanistan. Ryan is firstly observed and then recruited by the shadowy Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner) as a desk-bound CIA analyst, but a trip to Russia to investigate the nefarious financial dealings of Viktor Cheverin (Kenneth Branagh) elevates Ryan very swiftly to role of field agent, and an action man is (re)born.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is neither as loud nor as brainless as last year's White-House-under-attack double act of White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen but it is about as much fun and has at least as many plot holes. The entire finale comes about as a result of a catalogue of unrealistically simple contrivances and there is no reason to have Ryan's girlfriend, Cathy Muller (Keira Knightly), anywhere near Moscow other than to sex up the film and redress the situation of the underused Anne Archer from the Harrison Ford years.

There are no prizes for acting here. Pine may have found franchise work for the next few years but Costner, Knightly and Branagh are here for the light relief and the easy pay cheques. Let's just hope that for each of them this is merely a short break from the superior work of which they are all capable.

Branagh, on double duties as actor/director, will have done himself a lot of favours here with the money men at the studios and it further cements his position as a gun for hire in Hollywood, but all these popcorn flicks he's turning out for the studios take him further away from shooting another series of Wallander for the BBC. And I for one am not happy about that.

It must be possible to make a thriller that is exciting, suspenseful, vaguely realistic and intelligent, but Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit isn't it. 'Fun' is fine but it isn't memorable or satisfying. Less a case of 'could do better', more a case of 'has been better.'

For more reviews from The Squiss, subscribe to my blog and like the Facebook page.

All in all, the story line, chronology, acting etc in this movie are okay, but too cliché as most scenes are predictable. Keira Knightley does not portray a natural chemistry in her role as a girlfriend or mission assistant. I find the awkwardness of her scenes has drowned the tension & intensiveness of the movie.

At a positive view, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) did a pretty good job. His cool, humorous kind of charisma paid off in this movie. There were some scenes where I actually felt funny & LOL.

My initial vote for this movie was '5' & he is the reason why I added '1' more vote.