Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

Genre: Action / Thriller

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightley

Running time: 105 minutes

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Jack Ryan leaves his studies in economics to become a US Marine and fight in Afghanistan. His helicopter gets shot down, leaving him badly injured. As he recuperates, he meets the love of his life, Cathy, a medical student, and he is then recruited to work covertly for the CIA on Wall Street. His job then brings him to Moscow to investigate a Russian organization that is planning a major coup that could be devastating to the USA.

This is an original story based on characters created by author Tom Clancy. Chris Pine is the fourth actor to play Jack Ryan on the big screen. I cannot say that I was a big fan of his performance. His acting felt stiff and wooden here. It got better as the pace of the action got faster, but it was very uneven overall. The same could be said for Keira Knightley, which is unfortunate, as she has done much better jobs in other films. Kevin Costner and Kenneth Branagh were better in their respective roles.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit started a little slowly for me, but, once the action picked up, it was a thrilling ride through the life of a character that has to adapt quickly to his surroundings. It is unfortunate that the unevenness of the acting brought it down a notch for me. Still, this movie is an entertaining thriller.

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