Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - 3 smiles

Four actors have played Tom Clancy’s character, Jack Ryan: Alex Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October, Harrison Ford in A Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games and an unsuccessful reboot of the character with Ben Afflick in The Sum of All Fears. Now comes another reboot with Chris Pine in “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.” And although I liked the Harrison Ford movies, I like this one even more, which doubles as an origin story, taking us back to Jack Ryan’s beginnings. (But note this is not based on a Clancy novel.) Ryan (Pine) is at an economics college in London when 9/11 occurs and he decides to devote himself to protecting his country from all enemies ‘foreign and domestic’ by joining the Marines. After being injured in Afghanistan, he is recruited by Commander Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner) to join the CIA as an analyst. Ryan’s role changes from analytical to operational when, in the capacity as an undercover agent on Wall Street, he discovers the seeds of a Russian conspiracy to crash the US economy. Under Harper’s orders, Ryan heads to Moscow to investigate. The mastermind of the plot, Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh), sees the American as ‘dangerous’ and seeks to have him eliminated. Meanwhile, dodging bullets and thwarting attempts on his life takes its toll on Ryan’s relationship with his fiancée, Cathy (Kiera Knightley), who thinks his evasiveness might be evidence of an affair.

Director Kenneth Branagh maintains a smooth, controlled pace that ratchets up the tension in three action sequences (a hotel ambush, a heist, and a car chase) that, in less expert hands, could have become routine. As choreographed by Branagh, they crackle with tension and suspense. By movies’ end, you’re exhausted. And Branagh handles the necessary story exposition without bogging down the action. There’s even time for character development (in an action movie, no less!). Chris Pine, perhaps best known for playing Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk, has the presence and physicality to make Ryan a believable action hero. Kiera Knightley is strong and appealing while Kevin Costner is well suited as the mentor. And Branagh provides a villain who is less a megalomaniac and more of a misguided patriot. “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is quality entertainment for January, when lesser movies are usually dumped. 1/19/14