Review of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) by Ilsa W — 09 Oct 2014

Jack Ryan is back...again. This iteration is meant to act as a prequel of sorts. It isn't horrible in any way, it's just boring. The film follows an analyst as he tries to stop a financial attack on America.

As I said, there isn't anything bad about the film. The performances are fine, with Chris Pine doing a swell job as the title character, but the villain is just uninspired. Kenneth Branagh's Russian baddie is just like all of the other Russian baddies: Vodka, married women, and strangely poetic for whatever reason.

The film around these actors just seems to go with the flow. It's slow and feels longer than it really is (Under two hours). Unfortunately, there isn't enough going on to call it action, and there aren't enough thrills to call it a thriller.

If anything, the film is more rom-com with the way Jack's relationship is handled. By the time it ends, it's easy to see how this was meant to be a franchise starter, but hopefully a better director and faster pace can be added if a sequel does happen.