Screenwriters Adam Cozad and David Koepp have managed to turn Tom Clancy‘s most cherished character into nothing more than a piece of airport fiction in a film that reintroduces Jack Ryan in a story we’ve seen many times before, only the faces have changed. Once again a disgruntled foreign villain (with a random handicap of course) has a grudge against America, that stems all the way back to his childhood, and is determined to carry off an act of terrorism in the U.S. which we’re told would send us into a “second Great Depression”. I know what you’re thinking, Can anyone stop him? Yes. The guy whose name is in the title of the film can stop him and does stop him. No, that’s not a spoiler, and look, he uses a computer and a phone to do it!
The character that originally began as a figment of Clancy’s imagination in a debut novel that had our own government wondering “How’d you know that?” has gone on to be featured in several of Clancy’s novels, and first appeared on the big screen in 1990 in The Hunt for Red October played by Alec Baldwin. Baldwin would be replaced by Harrison Ford in two more films only to have Ben Affleck attempt to restart the character in 2002 with the non-starter The Sum of All Fears. Go ahead and lump Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit with Affleck’s failure because unless Paramount is determined to make a sequel, or if their blanket marketing has managed to sell this cheap bag of goods to an unsuspecting audience, this is probably the last we’ll hear of Ryan for a long time.
Chris Pine, Hollywood’s latest “let’s make him famous” project after the “Sam Worthington Experiment” never took off, takes on the title role. Most often I find Pine somewhat charismatic (even in the universally loathed This Means War), but wow, even a hint of charisma or personality would have been welcomed considering this script does him absolutely no favors.
In familiar fashion we’re introduced to our protagonist at school in London, the same day the World Trade Center Towers were attacked. Flash forward to 2003 and now he’s a marine, but, uh oh, his helicopter has just been hit by an RPG. He breaks two vertebrates in his back, but still manages to save the two men he was flying with. Off to the hospital we go.
Enter Keira Knightley, or should I say Dr. Keira Knightley with her laughable fake American accent as she helps Ryan rehab. Ryan, of course, falls for her — though strangely never asks, “Hey, what’s up with the accent?” — while a mysterious man looks on from above.
Said man is Tom Harper (Kevin Costner) and he works for the CIA and wants Ryan to work as an analyst and, again, we flash forward… this time ten years. Ryan is now working undercover for the CIA, type, type, typing, away, trying to find what he can in the dollars and cents of Wall Street. He’s living with, but not married to, (sinners!) Dr. Knightley, but things soon begin to ramp up as he makes a discovery and has to go off to Moscow. Knightley gets all, “What’s going on? Are you having an affair!? I’m sad,” and Ryan is like, “No babe, you have to trust me, let’s go to Paris.” She smiles, plot thickens…
Director Kenneth Branagh (Thor), not only directs but becomes the film’s second questionable bit of casting as instead of hiring a Russian actor to play the film’s villain, Branagh decides to pull double duty. You know, because there aren’t any other American actresses to play Ryan’s love interest or Russians to play the villain. That would be typecasting! Get out of here with that!
Branagh affords his villain the chance to pose and look all mean and villainy in several establishing scenes as we learn about some convoluted, “This is for Russia,” plot to do damage in the U.S. which I can’t say I ever necessarily understood the motive for or even cared. Add some running, a few car chases, plenty of fast typing on computers and boy do you have one hell of a disposable piece of junk.
Alternate titles they could have considered are Jack Ryan: Airport Fiction, Jack Ryan: TYPE FASTER! or Jack Ryan Goes to Moscow, all of which would set the audience up for what a turd this movie is. Studios need to remember, setting expectations is key. If your trailer promises a thriller, the thrills better be more than someone typing to Patrick Doyle‘s lazy excuse for Bourne score. Oh, and by the way, Mr. Shadow Recruit, when you step into a hidden elevator, SHUT THE FUCKING DOOR BEHIND YOU! Even the couple sitting behind me that couldn’t stop talking throughout the entire film keyed in on this point.
And on one final note, someone, anyone, please give Nonso Anozie a role worthy of his talents. While the guy is making a little headway on television, he was one of the best things in Ender’s Game, he was great on “Game of Thrones”, but in everything he’s in he’s limited to only a few scenes. The guy is not only talented, he’s charismatic and I’d like to see him stick around for the duration of a film please. Thank you.
