Review of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) by Xavier C — 06 Mar 2015

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit does a good job of showing just how out of his safe zone our protagonist is. From the very beginning, it shows that he is an intellectual who never intended to become any man of action. He's a desk jockey, and that's made very obvious. The first time he kills someone, drowning him, he does it in such a manor that demonstrates his lack of preparedness and desperation. He has to hold him down for such a long time that the tension builds immensely because even a second of weakness would get him killed. The weight of taking a man's life sticks with Jack, rattling him to his core, and the film commits to showing the toll it takes on him. This isn't glossed over in the slightest. When he does get into his field work, it's nice to see the skills he used at the office come in handy on his mission. It demonstrates his intelligence.

I think Chris Pine was good for the role. He didn't do anything that other actors couldn't do, but I managed to buy him as someone who could be a brainiac behind the scenes or a fighter on the front lines. Since Jack Ryan is both, that's important. What was exceptional about Pine was his ability to portray emotion through body language. There's just something about his face that's so expressive and let's me know exactly what's on his character's mind without even saying a word.

As the movie continued, however, I began to notice the many flaws it has. The script is very simple and it seems like no effort went into making the lines stand out at all. Aside from Jack's very first fight, there's really no satisfying action. Worst of all, the final act feels like a subplot to the main story. It had a very by-the-numbers scene of buildup before being abruptly reintroduced when it was time to wrap things up. Stuff like this keeps Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit in the realm of mediocre thrillers rather than great ones.