Every CIA operative needs a cover. And that’s no exception for Jack Ryan (played by Chris Pine). He starts out as an injured war veteran seeking rehab back in the states. There he falls in love with his physical therapist and future fiancée, Cathy (played by Kiera Knightly). Years later he has joined the CIA and to friends and family he appears to be a normal guy working on Wall Street. However, through his work he unveils a meticulous plot by a brilliant Russian foe aimed to damage the US economy that could lead to global fallout. He is the only one capable of stopping this. But his responsibilities as an agent get in the way of his relationship with Cathy. As the secrets pile up, the more danger she’s in.
I’m not a big Tom Clancy fan. It’s not that I don’t like his work, it’s just that I’ve never read any. My go to books are of the paranormal variety. However I was certainly willing to kill a couple of hours and see a film adaptation based on one of his novels. It doesn’t hurt that I’m a Chris Pine fan and I am always up for the chance to see more of him on screen. But a good movie takes more than just having a good actor.
The cast is fine. I thought it was fairly well acted. The action scenes were okay. I think Pine plays the role well and he could certainly be the leading man for a better sequel to this one or some other type of spy film. This is the first time I’ve heard Knightly speak with an American accent and I actually found it a little distracting. I didn’t think it served much of a purpose either. She could have used her normal accent.
Unfortunately for me, the majority of the story itself just comes off as pedestrian. I was hoping for a little more intrigue. Maybe I’m spoiled by shows like Covert Affairs that have over a dozen episodes to flesh out its story and build anticipation in the process. There just weren’t enough twists and turns to interest me in this one and it was mostly predictable.
One of the more interesting scenes involved Knightly’s character as a hostage (this isn’t much of a spoiler as it shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point). I found myself wondering how this scene could have gone in an R-rated film. In general I think the PG-13 rating holds it back from reaching its potential, especially if the writing isn’t very smart.