Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

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.

Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) is moved by 9/11 to go from the London School of Economics to fighting in Afghanistan. His helicopter is shot down and he goes through intense rehab with med student Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley). Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner) recruits him to work for the CIA. Jack gets a Wall Street job to find hidden terrorist financing covertly. Ten years later, he's at Harrman Brothers and living with girlfriend Cathy. He finds irregularities with the accounts of Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh). He seems to be propping up the US dollar. Jack is sent over to Russia to meet Cherevin but the analyst is thrown into the deep end.

I like Chris Pine's version of Jack Ryan. He is indeed a fish out of water. Keira Knightley has good chemistry with him. Kevin Costner is a bit stiff although he has the commanding presence. Branagh is passable as an evil Russian. In general, this is a good introduction to the character. However financial analysis is always going to be a hard sell and I don't buy the premise in this movie. It's the best that could be done with the material. It has a small bit of action. It probably suffers from being smaller than the other action thriller genre. Nevertheless, this is a good 90s thriller.

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.

After the terrible events of 9/11 "Jack Ryan" (Chris Pine) quits college and joins the Marine Corps. He is then sent to Afghanistan and suffers a severe injury requiring hospitalization and therapy at Walter Reed. As he is about to be released he is offered a a position in the CIA by a man named "Thomas Harper" (Kevin Costner) to essentially work as an undercover financial analyst in which he specializes in finding shell organizations that pump money to terrorists organizations. In the course of his duties he finds a lead which takes him all the way to Moscow and the discovery of a terrifying plot. Now rather than reveal any more of this film and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that I thought this was a pretty good movie overall. I especially liked the complex plot but in all fairness I must admit it got a little bit over-the-top in the end. In any case I rate it as above average.

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.