Jack Ryan : Shadow Recruit Review

Just finished watching the newest Tom Clancy movie : Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.   I have seen several Jack Ryan movies and my favorite up to this point was Clear and Present Danger with Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. This movie casts Chris Pine as the new Jack Ryan and I thought he carried the role very well for his first Tom Clancy movie.  The movie also features Kevin Costner as the senior agent working with Mr. Ryan,  and Keira Knightley as Jack's love interest.

Here is my summation of this movie from my perspective:

1. Great plot with interesting twists.  This movie was interesting and kept you guessing but didn't leave you lost in the details.
2. Interesting spin with Jack's love interest.  I haven't seen Patriot Games, but most of the movies with Jack Ryan I have seen have had zero romance.  Keira Knightley's part added a whole new perspective to the Jack Ryan against the bad guys story.  She had a strong role and played it well.  It didn't seem like the script just added her in to the story.  Her role helped develop the characters and made the story better in my opinion.
3. Kevin Costner keeps getting better with age.   I haven't always enjoyed movies with Kevin.  I didn't like his movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves that much, but that wasn't entirely his fault.  His movie role in this one was very likable and added a lot to the overall story.  He added the experience and guiding hand that the young Jack Ryan needed.  Plus he was a fun character to root for.

Now for some of things I didn't like overall:

1. Solving the major crime in 5 minutes of movie time.  I don't want to ruin the movie with spoilers but there are parts where it just comes together too quickly.  I'm all for having the good guys win but at some point you have to question how quickly they can get to the bottom of an elaborate evil plot.
2. Unnecessary Profanity - I haven't read any of Tom Clancy's books, so maybe this is accurate to his writing, but I wasn't glad to hear the profanity that constantly was used by the characters when things got rough.  I think movies could be more creative and cut down on using God's name in vain when things get tense.

Compared to other Tom Clancy movies : how does Jack Ryan :Shadow Recruit come out? My opinion is this is the second best Tom Clancy movie I have seen.  I've seen The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger.   Clear and Present Danger is still my favorite for edge-of-your-seat adventure and for a tense thriller.   I felt Jack Ryan : Shadow Recruit wasn't as tense, but it was still a good movie and I didn't feel I wasted time viewing it.  The acting is solid, the story well put-together, and overall its a fun ride.   If you like adventure/thriller movies or enjoy Tom Clancy movies, you will probably enjoy this one very much.  4 out of 5 stars in my vote.