Review of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) by Adam K — 01 Jun 2014

As a fan of the Jack Ryan series, I was quite tough on this one. Its not a major flop, but it really takes a down shift when considering what Jack Ryan on film has brought to moviegoers. It sticks to the espionage game well and I have to say I enjoy Chris Pine as the titular character, while both Knightley and Brannagh are relatively misused.

Costner was a welcoming presence. It keeps things simple in plot and length, which I certainly feel saves it from total failure as making it anything else would have been a major risk. Without really having any definitive literary source to be based off of, the studio here has simply created an easy origins story as a means to make money off existing fans and a hopeful new audience from a newer generation who has no idea where this series comes from.