Having never seen any of the previous incarnations of Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin in The Hunt For Red October - Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger - Ben Affleck in The Sum Of All Fears), my only reason for wanting to see the new movie was that it looked to be the only decent thing out on a Saturday night. Well, that and Chris Pine isn't exactly a chore to watch.
We open on a young Jack Ryan (Pine) as he studies Economics in London in 2001. The day we join him just happens to be September 11th, a date which prompts him to change careers and join the marines. An incident involving a helicopter he was flying in then puts him in the path of his future wife Cathy (Knightley) and his future employer, Thomas Harper (Costner) of the CIA. Ryan takes on an analyst position within the agency and when we fast forward 10 years we see him involved in a case to take down a Russian firm run by Viktor Cherevin (Branagh). Ryan has been gathering intelligence on Cherevin that shows suspicious amounts of US dollars have been going missing, all seemingly related to the Russian company, which could lead to a collapse of the US economy.
The story isn't all that gripping, and I must admit that I had to piece most of my synopsis together from IMDb and Wikipedia as I couldn't really remember the plot all that well. That probably tells you all you need to know about the movie. It's very stylish, but there isn't an awful lot of substance here. It's what I like to call a pure popcorn movie. Leave your brain at the door and you'll enjoy it just fine.
Which begs the question, why on earth did any of the actors involved want to do it? And moreover, why the hell did Branagh want to not only direct this uninspiring film, but star in it too? Don't even get me started on why he would want to put on a terrible Russian accent in order to give himself a role? The other actors, Pine, Knightley and Costner all do an admirable job of playing it seriously, which just makes me wish this was a better movie for them all. Yes, even Costner is decent. I know, I was shocked too.
It's not terrible, but it won't leave much of a lasting impression. Other than how bad Branagh's accent is. 6.5 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 25th January 2014
UK Release Date - 24th January 2014
Cast Overview:
Jack Ryan ~ Chris Pine
Cathy Muller ~ Keira Knightley
Thomas Harper ~ Kevin Costner
Viktor Cherevin ~ Kenneth Branagh
Director ~ Kenneth Branagh
Writer(s) ~ Adam Cozad and David Koepp - Based on characters created by Tom Clancy
Good review Kath. I hope that this begins a new franchise for Jack Ryan, because not only does he deserve it, but Pine is more than capable of handling it too.
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