Review, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Last night, I had the unique opportunity to catch an early preview of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit before its Friday release.

Did I like it? Yes. (So did my movie-watchin friend Heather) And I think if you like movies like Mission Impossible or The Bourne Identity, I'm pretty confident you will too. It's a formula that continues to work; Bad Guys with an Evil Plan+Good Guys who have to stop them+Action, Suspense and maybe a sprinkle of romance=Good Movie

The movie stars Chris Pine as Jack Ryan, a young marine who is recruited by the CIA. What begins as an Analyst job turns into an Operations job. While analyzing banking patterns, he uncovers a plot to bring the Depression 2.0 to the U.S. beginning with a terrorist attack. And now, he has to figure out when and where that's going to happen. Now, start the timer.

I sat on the edge of my seat or clutched my armrest through a good amount of the movie. And the nice lady next to me? She read the Russian subtitles for me and often spoke directly to the characters. "Yeah, you kill him." Really? It was quite entertaining.

So, I love action. Car chases, fight scenes, whatever. But, the scenes where Jack is thinking through scenarios trying to anticipate the bad guys next move were pretty fun to watch too.

One little warning? There were a couple intense action scenes that made my friend a bit queasy...so, if you ever need Dramamine, you might want to take one just in case.

The rest of the cast? LOVE Kiera Knightly in anything...but an American accent on her is just plain weird to me. As Cathy(the fiancee), her relationship with Jack was sweet and they look like a couple who will be able to handle anything. Her response to finding out he's in the CIA? "Thank God!" I really enjoyed Kevin Costner as Jack's recruiter. He feels a little bit like Ray Kinsella with some DC polish. I hope he comes back for the sequels I see coming.
And Kenneth Branagh's Russian terrorist? Threatening. His looks made you think the worst. Pretty sure he could talk anyone into anything with a glance.

I say, if you're looking for something to watch this weekend and you've seen the Hobbit, why not catch a matinee? Rotten Tomatoes says it's fresh at 73%!

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