Sunday, 19 January 2014

Film Review - Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit




Present and Clear Danger

Film: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Cast: Chris Pine, Keira Knightley , Kevin Costner
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Duration: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: * * *

The character created by Tom Clancy has appeared in five films before this, the last time was in The Sum of All Fears (2002). Much like Clancy’s novels, the films have also been decent entertainers and in the latest venture Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Kenneth Branagh, who has come a long way since his Shakespeare days, dons the hat of the director. 

Incidentally, Shadow Recruit is not adapted from any Clancy novel, unlike the previous films. 

Chris Pine plays Jack Ryan who is severely injured during a mission in Afghanistan. A mysterious CIA agent (Kevin Costner) is impressed by his rehabilitation hand picks him and sends him back to college to complete his Ph.D  only to be recruited as an undercover agent working on Wall Street, years later. 

His job is to track suspicious financial deals which might lead to terrorist groups. It doesn’t take long for him to find one, the source seems to be in Russia where most of the action takes place.   

The Russian tycoon (Branagh himself) has a few scores to settle with the Americans and he plans to cripple them with a financial tsunami. The scene shifts back to the U.S. where expectedly, Jack Ryan saves the day with his heroics.  Keira Knightley plays his fiancĂ©e who also finds her self in the thick of the action. 

While it is not an edge of the seat thriller, for most parts it keeps you interested. The plot is predictable and there are no surprises in store here. 

On the whole, it is a watchable action thriller. 

(Published in The Navhind Times on  19th Jan 2014)

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