Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
2.5/4
Starring: Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightly
Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Violence and Intense Action, and Brief Strong Language
Paramount must love Chris Pine. He's the star of the "Star Trek" reboot, the studio's cash cow, and he's headlining a reboot of the Jack Ryan franchise (a character that has been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck). It's not hard to understand why. He's handsome, talented and charismatic. What more do you need?
For starters, you need a better script than the one that this movie has. It often doesn't make a lot of sense, and when it does, what we see and hear isn't particularly interesting. The strong performances from the cast help a lot, but as everyone from George Clooney to Uwe Boll has claimed, you can't make a good movie without a good script.
This is an origin story (a decision that is kind of questionable since the franchise is too low profile for a revamp to be noticed or desired). Jack Ryan (Pine) is finishing up his graduate studies in England when the Twin Towers are destroyed. He drops out and joins the Marines. There, he falls for his lovely nurse Cathy (Knightly) and meets Tom Harper (Costner), who recruits him to the CIA as a financial analyst. Ryan uncovers some inconsistencies at his "office" with a Russian account and goes to Moscow to investigate. He discovers that a man named Viktor Cheverin (Branagh) is hatching a plan to send the US into the next Great Depression, and it's up to Jack to stop him.
This is pure formula. While it's clearly modeled after "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," the film has a stronger resemblance to "The Peacemaker" Both films, it should be said, are stronger than this one. But that's not the film's problem. The details are nonsensical and the idea isn't very compelling.
All four leads are in top form, which helps a lot. Chris Pine can always be counted on to give a good performance, but his Jack Ryan is like Captain Kirk without the mischief. It's not enough of a change to fend off deja vu and mild disappointment. Keira Knightly is lovely as ever and sports a flawless American accent. Unfortunately, she's almost superfluous. Kevin Costner is reliable as Jack's mentor, but his role is underwritten. Kenneth Branagh is the shining star. He's played villains before (such as Iago in Oliver Parker's "Othello," unseen by me), but he's a formidable adversary. Sadly, his Russian accent keeps some of his dialogue from being clearly audible
Branagh is as famous a director as he is an actor. He's made a number of fine films from behind the camera. He's also willing to work in just about any genre, from Shakespeare ("Hamlet," among others) to superheroes (the first "Thor" movie). This is not up to those standards. The script is lame and his direction exacerbates some of the film's plotholes. That said, there are some well constructed sequences, and the performances are always interesting.
I can't recommend it at the moment, but I think seeing it on Blu Ray with the subtitles on may change my mind.
Starring: Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightly
Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Violence and Intense Action, and Brief Strong Language
Paramount must love Chris Pine. He's the star of the "Star Trek" reboot, the studio's cash cow, and he's headlining a reboot of the Jack Ryan franchise (a character that has been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck). It's not hard to understand why. He's handsome, talented and charismatic. What more do you need?
For starters, you need a better script than the one that this movie has. It often doesn't make a lot of sense, and when it does, what we see and hear isn't particularly interesting. The strong performances from the cast help a lot, but as everyone from George Clooney to Uwe Boll has claimed, you can't make a good movie without a good script.
This is an origin story (a decision that is kind of questionable since the franchise is too low profile for a revamp to be noticed or desired). Jack Ryan (Pine) is finishing up his graduate studies in England when the Twin Towers are destroyed. He drops out and joins the Marines. There, he falls for his lovely nurse Cathy (Knightly) and meets Tom Harper (Costner), who recruits him to the CIA as a financial analyst. Ryan uncovers some inconsistencies at his "office" with a Russian account and goes to Moscow to investigate. He discovers that a man named Viktor Cheverin (Branagh) is hatching a plan to send the US into the next Great Depression, and it's up to Jack to stop him.
This is pure formula. While it's clearly modeled after "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," the film has a stronger resemblance to "The Peacemaker" Both films, it should be said, are stronger than this one. But that's not the film's problem. The details are nonsensical and the idea isn't very compelling.
All four leads are in top form, which helps a lot. Chris Pine can always be counted on to give a good performance, but his Jack Ryan is like Captain Kirk without the mischief. It's not enough of a change to fend off deja vu and mild disappointment. Keira Knightly is lovely as ever and sports a flawless American accent. Unfortunately, she's almost superfluous. Kevin Costner is reliable as Jack's mentor, but his role is underwritten. Kenneth Branagh is the shining star. He's played villains before (such as Iago in Oliver Parker's "Othello," unseen by me), but he's a formidable adversary. Sadly, his Russian accent keeps some of his dialogue from being clearly audible
Branagh is as famous a director as he is an actor. He's made a number of fine films from behind the camera. He's also willing to work in just about any genre, from Shakespeare ("Hamlet," among others) to superheroes (the first "Thor" movie). This is not up to those standards. The script is lame and his direction exacerbates some of the film's plotholes. That said, there are some well constructed sequences, and the performances are always interesting.
I can't recommend it at the moment, but I think seeing it on Blu Ray with the subtitles on may change my mind.
Comments
Post a Comment