Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

The new Ryan does credit to the thrillers of twenty years ago. Which might of course be hard to digest for today’s viewer. Branagh has come up with a relatively untraditional way to destroy America which makes some sense, but those who didn’t graduate in economics won’t be care. It’s maybe a shame that the action scenes are so ordinary, but all is made up for by Keira Knightly’s huge, beautiful peepers. Costner makes the most of his comeback, Pine as Ryan super cool. Rattled or heroic – he’s on top of his role. (11/05/2014)

The new Jack Ryan wants to be Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne, but he won’t even get close to Peacemaker. This spy thriller made in 2014 does not have a single action attraction, interesting location or unexpected twist. Obviously, there should have been respect and fear of the main bad guy, when even a scene involving an attempt to hack his computer would create suspense. But it doesn’t work. It is clear to the viewer that such a cookie-cutter scenario would not dare hurt Jack’s sweetheart. For Kenneth Branagh, it was a simple and lucrative Hollywood job, where he got money for both direction and the role of the villain, and that’s all. Let’s move on. (31/01/2014)

Actually, the only interesting thing about Jack Ryan is the creepy armchair rightism without a shred of self-reflection. Not only is there not really much to justify the hero's reasons for superiority – he's smart, he's pretty muscular, but so are his opponents in the film, and he only wins because he's more strongly committed to service of his country – but more importantly, all the US security forces here look adorably harmless, especially thanks to the presence of a bored and fatherly Costner. While the focus of the virtually identical Spy Game also didn't address the controversies surrounding the agents and their actions, it nevertheless pointed them out and constructed a point of view. Here, Chris Pine is a constantly whining young man in the snares of the big game, who has little choice throughout the film yet seems untroubled by it, a bit reminiscent of a noodle in a lunch pail. All the while, he manages to constantly grope his girl and cast doe-eyed glances throughout the entirety of the film like it's not fair, but someone has to do it. The most fun, though, is the final shot, which is identical to the first Godfather. It's where Al Pacino closes the door on his wife and she finally realizes how her life has been pushed to the margins. Here, it’s the viewer the door closes on and the ones standing behind it are the president (with a subtle Southern accent) and CIA agents. (17/05/2014)

Three and a half stars because Jack Ryan is above average, although not by much. It's actually an old Bond movie. In a new coat. And without James Bond. The fact that it looks so ordinary, mundane and unoriginal, and that not much surprising happens in it, can be a plus for some as much as a minus for others. Personally, I was most annoyed by the (next) bomb, which again had that necessary timer with a digital display... It's become such a cliché that I can't help but laugh whenever I see it (especially when remembering the excellent The Sum of All Fears). However, Branagh's meticulous direction and Doyle's excellent music, the acting performances, and the dialogue scenes that are perhaps more interesting than the action scenes (not that the fight in the apartment isn't awesome) are unquestionable. (01/02/2014)

It's a shame how much effort they put into making Jack Ryan resemble his genre relatives. In close combat like Jason Bourne, in villainous plots like James Bond, and in dragging his partner into it like Ethan Hunt. But when these three parts are added up, there remains a pleasantly old-fashioned spy ride that has no problem standing on its own feet, yet never finds its own face even for a moment. And that is even more unfortunate given that Chris Pine is always fully successful in the role of the hesitant hero. (12/02/2019)