Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is the fifth film to feature Tom Clancy’s iconic character, and stars the fourth leading man to play him in what is actually the second attempt to reboot the series. It’s also unlikely the last. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, it seems likely that Hollywood will keep trying to turn Jack Ryan into Jason Bourne, despite all evidence that the maneuver just won’t work. It’s almost like they’ve never read a Clancy novel.
Really though, it was a valiant effort to re-purpose Cold Warrior Ryan into a new era of relevance by framing him as a patriot, inspired by the events of 9/11 to enlist in the Marine Corps and then later the CIA, which situates him in a position to try and prevent a new attack meant to cripple America emotionally and financially. The movie also presaged Russia’s real world return to villainy, even if director Kenneth Branagh’s turn as evil tycoon Cherevin is played a little too Boris and Natasha to be taken seriously.
Sadly though, much of the running time gets eaten up with the domestic drama of Ryan and his fiancée Cathy (played by Keira Knightly), who inexplicably becomes central to the plot. I suppose it’s nice that a girl gets to play in the Clancy boys club, but the damsel in distress trope is probably not the best way to make that happen.
As for making this franchise happen, the best way to do that it probably wasn’t to remake Ryan as your typical lunk head action hero. Indeed, the Jack Ryan films aren’t known for their frantic action, close quarters combat and beating the ticking doomsday clock. The Bond movies get a lot of static for basically turning 007 into Bourne, but at least Bond was an action kind of spy in the first place, unlike Ryan, who is, as we’re reminded, an analyst. Underline that word: analyst.
Although the movies are typically about how the normally desk bound Ryan gets in over his head, he’s never supposed to be the guy wrestling with villains while saving the city from catastrophic destruction. Less action, and some explanation on why Ryan was a “shadow recruit” would have been appreciated.
