Operação Sombra: Jack Ryan

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.

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.

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.

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

In 2002 the underwhelming The Sum of All Fears - with Ben Affleck in the lead role - put the Ryan franchise in the morgue. 12 years on and the famous CIA analyst is back on the big screen with a brand new story and a fresh face. Perhaps they should've waited another dozen years, as this reboot is utterly forgettable and offers nothing in the way of originality or inventiveness. The action has no pulse, the plot is straight out of 1980 and there's no thriller element to keep you guessing as the "Trust No One" tagline on the poster would suggest; which is all a shock when you consider Kenneth Branagh was at the helm and his last effort Thor, was such a gleefully entertaining motion picture. It also doesn't help that the latest incarnation of Jack Ryan, as portrayed by Chris Pine, has about as much charisma as a tree. Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner and Branagh are serviceable as love interest, mentor and villain respectively, however there's little any of them can do to boost the excitement levels. It's not a bad movie per se, just a run- of-the-mill affair you'll struggle to remember after the end credits.