© FAKESHEMP.NET
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About

JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT

27/5/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
2013 / Director. Kenneth Branagh.
Review by Glenn Cochrane.


JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT is an insult from the get go. The poster proudly declares that it is based on characters created by Tom Clancy but who are they kidding? This isn't a Jack Ryan story. There are nine novels in Clancy's Jack Ryan series (five of which have not been adapted yet) as well as a further eight spin-off books... and yet this new movie claims to be the fifth instalment in the film franchise, following THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER and THE SUM OF ALL FEARS... ha. What a joke.  This is an entirely new story. Tom Clancy's character has a history and a back-story. He was born in 1950 and through the book his entire life and career can be mapped out... but this new film has the audacity to rewrite his story. SHADOW RECRUIT has Jack attending college on the day of the 9/11 terrorist attack. He's young guy in a modern world and that just doesn't sit right with me. 


And so the only way I could watch SHADOW RECRUIT was to dissociate it from the character I already know so well. While I cringe whenever his name is mentioned I was eventually able to suspend my disbelief enough to fully enjoy the movie on a more basic level. Kenneth Branagh directs (and acts in) this film with Chris Pine in the lead and support performances from Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley. As far as spy and espionage films go, SHADOW RECRUIT is a belter. Jack is recruited into the CIA and assigned to investigate suspicious financial transactions on Wall Street in the wake of 9/11. After 10 years undercover he discovers hidden Russian finances that suggest a pending terrorist attack. It's from this moment that he is sent to Russia under the guise of a company man that things ramp up, leading to an action-packed suspense thriller that moves at lightning speed. While the film does rely on some contrived and caricatured bad-guy elements, it feels classic. There's an almost Hitchcockian feel to the movie and in a further departure from the Clancy character, Ryan is now a Jason Bourne style action hero. The chases and fight scenes are well handled and the overall film is top notch in my mind.... Chris Pine plays the character really well and adds sincerity and humanity that was perhaps lacking from previous films. I can only imagine how great he would have been as Jack Ryan in a faithful adaptation, set some years ago. I don't need historical context or relevance in this series... I want something that is true to the world that Tom Clancy created. 


But Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan this IS NOT!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    OUR WRITERS
    GLENN COCHRANE
    JARRET GAHAN
    SHAUN CRAWFORD
    ALEX MAYNARD
    CHRIS THOMPSON​
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    April 2010

    RSS Feed

© 2018 FakeShemp.Net    All rights reserved.  FakeShemp.Net Illustrations by MJ Barros. 
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About