Even a star-studded cast, including Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Costner, couldn’t save this movie. A reboot of the Jack Ryan franchise, Shadow Recruit spends its first hour giving the brainy CIA agent first popularized by Tom Clancy’s spy novels a modern origin story. His patriotic fervor is awakened after 9/11, but the rest of the film feels tired and overdone. From sneering, vodka-drinking Russians to ticking bombs and a damsel in distress, it’s all been done and redone before. Although scenes set in Moscow are flashy and sleek, the generic characters, wooden dialogue and a bland plot make this film less than entertaining.
Should You See It? Save it for a bored night in. —S.Z.
Viewed at Ronnie’s 20 Cine