Four stars. Rating: PG-13, for action violence and brief profanity
By Derrick Bang
This is the most fun I’ve had
with a spy thriller since 2004’s The
Bourne Supremacy ... and possibly since 1975’s Three Days of the Condor.
Actually, the Condor comparison may be more apt, since
this re-boot of Tom Clancy’s intrepid CIA analyst — played in previous films by
Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck — places a greater emphasis on
Ryan’s analytical skills, while making him a reluctant secret agent. The
resulting action dynamic evokes fond memories of Robert Redford’s similarly
desperate efforts, in Condor, to make
the most of a set of circumstances far outside his comfort zone.
Not that star Chris Pine’s fresh
take on Jack Ryan is wholly inexperienced when it comes to field work, as was
the case with Redford’s character. As seems obligatory these days, with
“rookie” covert operatives, this re-imagined Ryan is a former Marine with
plenty of hoo-rah grit and
hand-to-hand combat skills, in addition to his university book-learnin’.
Indeed, we’re introduced to a
college-age Ryan attending classes at the London School of Economics, on the
fateful day when terrorists take out New York’s Twin Towers. Galvanized into
serving his country, Ryan becomes a Marine and nearly loses his life.
Convalescence and subsequent physical therapy bring two people into his orbit:
flirty, kind-hearted med student Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley), and stoic man
of mystery Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner).
The former, we can be sure, will
become this story’s obligatory love interest; the latter, armed with Costner’s
devilish smile, is the CIA recruiter who brings Ryan into the fold. But not,
Harper insists, until the younger man returns to school and obtains his degree.
The CIA wants Ryan to be Wall
Street-savvy, the better to ferret out nasty back-room dealings that might
endanger the U.S. economy.
Flash-forward to the present day,
with Ryan comfortably ensconced at a high-profile Wall Street firm where nobody
knows of his actual career. “Nobody” includes Cathy, now a main squeeze of many
years’ standing, who has become a pediatric eye surgeon. Thus far, Cathy hasn’t
had any reason to wonder about her lover’s candor — Ryan has taken the CIA
secrecy pledge very seriously — but, naturally,
that’s about to change.
I’m not sure that plot
contrivance works in this day and age; it seems highly unlikely that Ryan could
have concealed his shadowy activities for so long. People who live together
generally know each other’s movements better than that, and the resulting
“trouble” caused by this secret seems a mite silly ... even when Pine does his
best to sell the notion with his unabashed charm and Boy Scout enthusiasm.
But it’s not a major problem, and
the subterfuge does prompt several cute exchanges between Pine and Knightley,
both of whom deliver plenty of captivating star wattage.
Actually, I’m impressed by
several bits of dialogue and sidebar details in this original screenplay from
newcomer Adam Cozad and longtime scripting veteran David Koepp (the latter
well-versed with taut thrillers such as Panic
Room and Premium Rush). Cozad and
Koepp are quite clever about obeying Anton Chekhov’s principle of good drama:
that if a rifle is seen hanging on the wall in chapter one, it absolutely must
go off in a subsequent chapter.
Several little touches seem
inconsequential here, at first blush, but later take on greater meaning. I
greatly respect canny writing of that nature.
I also enjoy a good villain, and
director Kenneth Branagh has given himself the juicy role of Victor Cherevin, a
powerful Russian banker and deeply devoted nationalist who takes a dim view of
U.S. economic interests that threaten Mother Russia. With unofficial backing
from his government, Cherevin activates an insidious plot that could plunge the
United States into another Great Depression ... triggered by a terrorist act
committed by a long-dormant sleeper agent.
We’ve not seen Russia painted
with such adversarial colors for quite some time — today’s Islamic radicals and
North Koreans being such handier villains — and, as a result, this plot detail
is a bit startling. Branagh’s Cherevin is a grim, Machiavellian baddie who
hearkens back to the Cold War era of countless spy films and books by the likes
of John Le Carre and Len Deighton.
Cherevin is a tightly wound partisan
who has little patience for decadent Americans, and his immediate contempt for
Ryan — when they eventually meet — is punctuated by the Shakespearean dialogue
flourishes that Branagh delivers and directs equally well. Indeed, their
initial exchange, with Ryan supposedly present to examine some of the financial
dealings that link his Wall Street firm to Cherevin, is a delicious exchange of
thinly veiled sarcasm on both sides. Branagh and Pine play it well.
You can’t help but grin, even as
Branagh allows his character the faintest ghost of a contemptuous half-smile.
(Blink, and you’ll miss it.) The contrast between these two men is well played:
Cherevin coldly polite and terrifyingly charming, Ryan impulsively brash and
apparently oblivious to his rival’s frosty ruthlessness.
This engaging character dynamic
aside, the unfolding narrative also gets considerable juice from Cherevin's
plot, which — as concocted by Cozad and Koepp — feels disturbingly probable. In
an era littered with hacked consumer bank accounts, not to mention the horrific
implications of Wall Street nanosecond trading, it’s not at all hard to believe
that this sort of economic havoc could be executed in the blink of an eye.
Pine’s rapidly rising star status
is bolstered further by his likable performance here as an academic turned
reluctant action hero. Ryan’s first exposure to unexpected violence, once in
Russia, is a corker of a scene: tautly edited by Martin Walsh and choreographed
by stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, and strongly reminiscent of the vicious
washroom fracas that earns the re-booted James Bond his 007 designation, in
2006’s Casino Royale.
It’s obviously no accident, as
well, that cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos’ lens set-ups and tracking style
evoke the photojournalistic grit of 1960s and ’70s spy thrillers.
Pine works his almost luminescent
blue eyes to maximum effect when exchanging come-hither dialogue with
Knightley, and it’s nice to see her in a contemporary, real-world role that
lacks the emotionally damaged angst present in so many of the characters she
plays. (Never Let Me Go, A Dangerous Method and Anna Karenina come to mind.) Cathy
Muller is smart, capable and resourceful; she also is a woman in love, which
adds just enough vulnerable shading to Knightley’s sparkling presence.
They’re both overshadowed by
Branagh, but that’s no surprise; the British stage and screen veteran can
dominate a room merely by standing still ... because he’s never still, even when he seems to be. Buckets of emotional
complexity forever stir behind his eyes, and in his mannered expressions, and
the set of his limbs. In every respect, Cherevin is a villain we admire, even
as we loathe and fear him ... and why not? He’s just as much a patriot as Ryan.
Costner capably handles his role
as mentor and undercover veteran, his laid-back self-assurance a deliberate
contrast to Ryan’s early-stage uncertainty. Granted, Costner’s “laid-back”
delivery pretty much defines his rather narrow acting range, but this
comfortable role certainly plays to his strengths.
Ryan’s second-act invasion of Cherevin's
office headquarters is a deftly constructed model of suspense: a classic set-up
that requires our hero to accomplish the impossible in a very short period of
time, without being spotted. Less successful, however, is a subsequent car
chase through Moscow’s streets, which builds to a rather silly climax that
transforms Ryan into something just shy of a super hero.
By this point, though, the film
has built up so much good will, that you’ll likely forgive the lapse.
I almost must point out, however,
that this film’s title is terrible.
One wonders what the late Clancy
would have made of this, since it has nothing to do with any of his nine Jack
Ryan novels (not to mention the eight “subsidiary” books, some of which Clancy
co-wrote with Other Hands, and which include Ryan as a supporting character).
That’s typical of Hollywood’s current fascination with franchise re-boots, and
quite similar to the way both Bond and Jason Bourne have moved beyond their
original literary identities. If Pine is fortunate enough to luck into an
ongoing role as Ryan, though, future filmmakers will need to focus more on his
intellectual smarts, in order to distinguish him from his covert ops cousins.
Meanwhile, you’ll have a great
time with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
January usually is a dumping ground for productions that couldn’t make the cut
during the previous summer or holiday season; this one’s a welcome change of
pace.
No comments:
Post a Comment