Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
— I had gum surgery yesterday so I’m taking it easy with a liquid diet. During my sleepless night I watched “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” (DVD) with apprehension. A film based on characters from a best-selling series seemed likely to fail, but it didn’t. After a somewhat slow start it moved into international-espionage high gear. Chris Pine’s version of Jack Ryan worked well and Keira Knightley was more than up to the task as Ryan’s wife. Ably rounding out the cast are Kevin Costner, as Ryan’s mentor, and Kenneth Branagh, both acting and directing. The film was evidently less successful with younger viewers than hoped (it received AARP’s "Movies for Grown-ups" seal thanks to Branagh, 53, and Costner, 59, and over a third of the audience on opening weekend was over age 50 ). With $134M worldwide gross, the rebooted Ryan franchise may still have some life in it, even though earlier Jack Ryan films grossed $178M to $215M. The fact that there’s something both familiar and different about the film and its characters played well with me—I’d see the next installment if there is one.
[2014. 105 min. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Starring Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, & Keira Knightley.]
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