Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Review

 

When Tom Clancy died in October of 2013 it left a void in my reading hobby specific to the action/thriller genre.  I have read all of his fictional books---my favorite of which was his Jack Ryan series.  Naturally, when I heard news of a new Jack Ryan movie, I was excited.  Actually, I was more intrigued to know what the movie was about since the title---Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit---is not from the list of his Jack Ryan novels. So I made it a point to fast track my ironing chore this afternoon and dragged my wife for an afternoon movie date.

 

The movie starred Chris Pine as Jack Ryan, the fourth actor to do so after Alec Baldwin (Hunt for the Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck (Sum of All Fears).  With the last Tom Clancy novel movie adaptation done in 2002, Shadow Recruit is welcome offering. 

 

As I've said earlier, Shadow Recruit is not a Tom Clancy novel so it was no surprise that it does not follow the storyline of any of the published books.  It looks to me as a reboot of the beginnings of Jack Ryan.  Based on the chronology of the Jack Ryan universe Patriot Games covered the back story of the beginning of the Jack Ryan character and is set in 1981.  Shadow Recruit twisted the timelines in the movie and dated with 2002 events.  It also changed the character of Jack Ryan's recruiter from U.S. Navy Vice Admiral James Greer to Thomas Harper.  I guess the producers of this film is planning on making fresh start for a movie franchise with stories outside of the published novels.  If this is indeed the case I guess it's something to look forward to to keep the Jack Ryan character alive even after the passing of its original creator.

 

The Verdict:  Watch at your own risk.  This movie will provide entertainment for the action junkie but do not expect any surprises in the storyline.  Too much attention was given to the Jack Ryan character that the role of the protagonist was almost intangible---forgetful even.  Personally I think it was a waste of Kenneth Branagh's acting talent.