Rated
PG-13 (Sequences of Violence and Intense Action, and Brief Strong Language)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 45 Minutes
Cast-
Chris
Pine-Jack Ryan
Keira
Knightley-Caroline 'Cathy' Muller
Kevin
Costner-Thomas Harper
Kenneth
Branagh-Viktor Cherevin
Colm
Feore-Rob Behringer
Nonso
Anozie-Embee Deng
Lenn
Kudrjawizki-Constantin
Alec
Utgoff-Aleksandr Borovsky
Peter
Andersson-Dimitri Lemkov
Elena
Velikanova-Katya
Seth
Ayott-Teddy Hefferman
Gemma
Chan-Amy Chang
Directed
by Kenneth Branagh
 |
| Sir, what do you mean my porn got deleted? |
The
winter months, especially January, are almost never kind to film critics. It's already
been eight days and I'm still trying to wash out the massive sh*t stain that Renny
Harlin's "The Legend of Hercules" left behind. Fortunately, there is a
light at the end of the tunnel. Originally set for a Christmas Day release, Kenneth
Branagh's latest film "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" is finally arriving
in theaters after Paramount Pictures opted to delay the action thriller in order
to make room for Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street." The anti-James
Bond, Jack Ryan was created by insurance broker-turned-novelist Tom Clancy (who
tragically passed away last October) and made his first appearance in the best-selling
1984 novel The Hunt for Red October. "Die
Hard" director John McTiernan subsequently adapted Clancy's book into a
critically and commercially-acclaimed film in 1990, with Alec Baldwin starring as
the titular CIA analyst. This was followed by the 1992 sequel "Patriot Games"
directed by Phillip Noyce and based on the 1987 novel of the same name but Baldwin
was forced out of the Jack Ryan role and replaced with the more bankable Harrison
Ford, who later returned for 1994's "Clear and Present Danger," also directed
by Noyce. Even though all three films were well-received by critics and audiences,
Paramount strangely decided to reboot the character in 2002's "The Sum of
All Fears," directed by Phil Alden Robinson. This time around, Jack Ryan was
played by Ben Affleck but the film, while a box office success, had a lukewarm
reception. The franchise lied dormant for five years as efforts were made to
continue the series yet nothing came to fruition. Once again, Paramount decided
to reboot the character in 2009, with the new film not based on any pre-existing
Tom Clancy novel. As hard as the studio tries, Jack Ryan will never become the
household name that James Bond grew into but "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"
remains a fine action thriller that forms a solid-enough foundation for future
installments.
September
11, 2001. Jack Ryan (Chris Pine), a student at the London School of Economics,
learns on television that New York City's World Trade Center has just been attacked
by terrorists. This proves to be a life-altering event for him as he decides to
put his studies on hold and enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Eighteen
months later in 2003, Ryan (now a Lieutenant) and two of his fellow soldiers are
on a routine mission in Afghanistan when the helicopter they're in is suddenly
shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). Despite suffering a painful back
injury that leaves two of his vertebrae broken, Ryan is still able to rescue
his men from the crash but the doctor reveals that his days of fighting on the
frontlines are effectively over. At the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Ryan's
rehabilitation is aided by third year medical student Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley),
who takes an instant liking to her patient. Paying close attention to the
former marine's recovery is Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner). After revealing
himself to be CIA, Harper offers Ryan another chance to serve his country and
sends him back to London in order to complete his PhD in economics. Ten years later,
Ryan is working on New York City's Wall Street as a financial analyst but he is
actually an undercover CIA agent tasked with following money trails that would
indicate terrorist activity. He is also engaged to Cathy, who is kept in the dark
about her future husband's double-life. Ryan becomes suspicious when he is unable
to access a number of Russian accounts at work and traces them to a client named
Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh). Traveling to Moscow under the pretense of performing
an audit, Ryan learns that Cherevin is planning to launch a devastating
terrorist attack that would destabilize the United States economy, sending the
country into a great depression from which it can never recover from. In order
to stop Cherevin, Harper 'activates' Ryan, warning him that he is no longer just
an analyst anymore.
The
Cold War may have ended over twenty years ago but its spirit is alive and well
in Kenneth Branagh's franchise reboot "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit." In
stark contrast to Ian Fleming's womanizing MI6 agent James Bond, the Tom Clancy
character was something of a socially awkward nerd in the novels. He's the kind
of spy who stops terrorist plots with his mind rather than with his fists. Since
this doesn't make for engaging cinema for mainstream audiences, the films tended
to depict him as a brilliant but reluctant action hero. Although Ryan is still a
highly intelligent CIA analyst in "Shadow Recruit," the reboot positions
him in the financial world where America's greatest fear isn't communism or Al Qaeda,
its economic collapse. That the villains happen to be Russian provides a nice callback
to the character's Cold War roots. The script, written by Adam Cozad and David Koepp,
is relatively straightforward despite packing a lot of material in its lean 105-minute
running time. Branagh, who also plays the central villain, keeps the film briskly
paced, allowing audiences to swallow all the details without calling too much attention
to several plot contrivances that rear their ugly head, such as Ryan's magically
healed back once the fists start flying. There are some great set-pieces, the
first of which pits the CIA analyst in a sudden hotel room brawl with a physically
imposing assassin named Embee Deng, played by Nonso Anozie. It's a tightly-edited
sequence, with every punch and gunshot registering with tremendous impact in IMAX
(although the premium format offers little tangible benefit beyond the improved
sound quality). The second feels like something out of a John le Carré novel,
where Ryan is forced to divulge his double-life to his fiancée Cathy and then
enlist her as a 'distraction' for Cherevin while he hacks into the Russian financial
mogul's computer. Unfortunately, the remaining set-pieces look like they were
cobbled together by a totally different editor (they're not) as the car chases go
on for far too long, with the final fight scene devolving into a jumble of blurred
fists and quick cuts. Despite going to great lengths to ground the premise in
the real world, Branagh can't help but indulge in cheesy spy tropes, casting
the villain as a heavily tattooed gangster with a penchant for long-winded
monologues. Apparently Cherevin hasn't watched "The Incredibles." The
film also veers dangerously close to being a generic Jason Bourne clone but in
spite of its many flaws, "Shadow Recruit" remains—as New York Times' Manohla Dargis writes—'a
competently made, moderately diverting variation on a genre standard.'
Chris
Pine is the fourth actor to portray Jack Ryan and his casting is by far one of
the strongest attributes in "Shadow Recruit." Not only can Pine handle
the physical demands of the role as proven in the "Star Trek" films but
he's also able to convincingly convey Ryan's everyman decency while giving the
character a charismatic, boyish charm. The gorgeous Keira Knightley shares a good
rapport with Pine as Ryan's fiancée Cathy Muller, with the script smartly positioning
her character as an active participant rather than someone sitting patiently on
the sidelines. Still, the writers sadly can't avoid turning her into another run-of-the-mill
damsel-in-distress, with the actress saddled with a distractingly unconvincing
American accent. Why Branagh didn't just make Cathy British puzzles me. Kevin
Costner lends a bit of gravitas as Ryan's mentor Thomas Harper, who's quite handy
with a sniper rifle and even cracks a few jokes despite his no-nonsense demeanor.
Finally, there's director Kenneth Branagh, whose role as Viktor Cherevin proves
to be the sole cheesy element in a film that purports to be set in the real
world. Branagh's Russian accent is fine, if laid a little too thick, but his character
is so obviously a bad guy that he might as well grow an evil mustache while
stroking a Persian cat. If he really wanted to take aim at corrupt corporate
CEOs, Cherevin would've been better served by turning him into an American.
Released
on January 17, 2014 after being delayed from its original Christmas Day release,
"Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" has received lukewarm reviews with 61% on
Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that 'it doesn't reinvent the action-thriller
wheel, but [the film] offers a sleek, reasonably diverting reboot for a long-dormant
franchise.' Even though Paramount has been aggressively promoting Branagh's
film, it's set to debut with a little over $20 million during the busy Martin Luther
King Jr. weekend, with the buddy comedy "Ride Along" set to overtake
the franchise reboot by a wide margin. It's a shame considering that film has a
pathetic 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" has its
fair share of problems and isn't quite as successful at contemporizing its spy
hero like James Bond in "Casino Royale" but it delivers quality blockbuster
entertainment at a time where most films scrape the bottom of the barrel. The
foundation is now laid; maybe it's time for Ryan to hunt for a certain rogue submarine?
Final
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
"Sometimes
the ones closest to us are the ones we should trust the least. If you find the
truth, will you believe it?"
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