Jack Ryan (2014)- Short Movie Review

Plot Summary:

Based on the character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy, "Jack Ryan" is a global action thriller set in the present day. This original story follow a young Jack (Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot. The story follows him from 9/11, through his tour of duty in Afghanistan, which scarred him forever, and into his early days in the Financial Intelligence Unit of the modern CIA where he becomes an analyst, under the guardianship of his handler, Harper (Kevin Costner). When Ryan believes he's uncovered a Russian plot to collapse the United States economy, he goes from being an analyst to becoming a spy and must fight to save his own life andthose of countless others, while also trying to protect the thing that's more important to him than anything, his relationship with his fiancée Cathy (Keira Knightley). (c) Paramount

Movie Specs:

Rating- PG-13

Sex and Nudity- 2/10 (one PG scene of Pine and Knightley in bed)

Language- 2/10 (nothing notable)

Violence- 5/10 (Snipers, and one scene of murder by drowning)

Drugs-0/10 (no drugs)

Length- 2hrs 25 mins

Review:

This has been a surprising film for me. After disappointing adaptations of action novels, I fully expected this to bomb. Chris Pine has sealed his action star status in his portrayal of intellectual and brawny CIA agent Jack Ryan. While he has come a long way from chessy romcomedies, there are some overly saccharine scenes that become incongruous with the solemnity of the film and would fit right into the romcom genre he graduated from. Somehow, he pulls it off. The combination of his boyish looks and macho build makes his appeal transcend age and gender. American-accented Keira and Kevin were wasted talents in the film. We know what they are capable of. But the script writing confined and reduced them to forgettable characters. The antagonists are fairly good. Branagh portrayed the dichotomy of a villain well enough to evoke a twinge of sympathy for his plight.

The plot was dragging at first and suddenly picked up pace midway which made the scenes feel rushed. However, the quality of the action scenes in the second half of the movie made the drag forgivable. The script was heavy with Wall Street jargon making around 60% of it incomprehensible to the layman. I found myself explaining the plot to my companions in the cinema. The audience would struggle to grab on to any clue just to understand the context. But then we get dazzled by the break-neck speed of the action scenes that we forget about the technicalities of the terrorist plot. Somehow, this is where it is successful. It gets the viewers to cheer on the hero without understanding what he actually has to do. It succeeded in making the hero so likable that we sympathize with him without comprehending the severity of his problems.

Fave Character:

Jack Ryan (yes one of the few times I loved the actual lead character)

Least Liked Character:

William Harper (what a waste)

Fave Quote: (NV)

Cathy: I’ll have dinner with you when you are able to run out of here. We’ll split the check.

Fave Scene:

Nonso-Pine fight scene