A welcome return for Jack Ryan...

Late in 2013 came the terribly sad news that we had lost the fantastic Tom Clancy.  Starting with his novels, he went on to create Red Storm Entertainment who were responsible for groundbreaking titles such as Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell (although this title was released under Ubisoft who by that time had bought Red Storm Entertainment).  Clancy was a historian as well as an author, and this introduced a level of detail and military realism to his fiction never before experienced by many.

Tom Clancy's work had been brought to the big screen as early as 1990 with The Hunt for Red October.  A film that also introduced film goers to the character of Jack Ryan, someone who features heavily in Tom Clancy's literature.  With the release of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Ryan has been played by 4 different actors including, Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck.  Chris Pine is latest in that line, and is also the first to star in an original film not based directly on a Clancy novel.

Shadow Recruit is something of an origins film.  Portraying Jack Ryan's induction into the CIA.  At the beginning of the film we join Jack in his studies at the London School of Economics.  The opening sequence shows Jack, among others, discovering on the news of the Twin Tower attacks of 9/11.  As a result, Jack drops out of school and joins the Marines where he is badly injured when his helicopter is shot down during a tour of Afghanistan.  During his time in the Marines his analytical abilities are noticed, and whilst in medical rehab he is visited by Thomas Harper (played by Kevin Costner) who recruits him into the CIA.  He also meets his future fiancee Cathy (played by Kiera Knightley).

Ryan is sent back to school to finish his PhD before being sent undercover to work as a compliance officer at a brokerage on Wall Street.  There he will use his cover to search for suspect market trading that would indicate terrorist activity.  Some such activity leads him to Moscow investigating transactions of a company faced by Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh, who also directs).  An attempted assassination on Ryan forces him to turn from analyst to field operative.  A transition made even more difficult when Cathy arrives in Moscow to check up on Ryan as she suspects he is cheating on her.

I am a huge fan of Tom Clancy, and grew up reading his books.... a lot.  As a fan of his books I can honestly say that the film is a success.  It was as thrilling to watch as his books are to read, and even though the story of the film is in itself original.  They remain sympathetic to Jack Ryan as a character, and Chris Pine does an excellent job.  This film will give you exactly what it sets out to give you.  An edge of your seat, espionage thriller.  Even more importantly, it sets up the prospect of a franchise (Kevin Costner has apparently been signed on a 2 film deal with him set to star in Without Remorse, a film currently in development.  More on that another time), without leaving a raft of unanswered questions along with a cliffhanger that runs the risk of never being resolved.  The prospect of seeing more Jack Ryan on our screens in the near future is one that fills me with excitement.

With box office takings currently around the $80 million mark, it has already made back it's $60 million budget.  So further films seem very likely.

One to watch.

Hit and Run (2012)

Not to be confused with the 2009 straight to video slasher film, Hit and Run is a romantic road trip, comedy released in 2012, starring Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell and Bradley Cooper.

A friend of mine asked me the other day if I had seen this film, and whilst I remember it being released, I hadn't had chance to see it at the cinema.  Though through the majesty of Netflix that was soon remedied.  My friend was wanting my opinion on the film.  After watching it he felt that it had potential but he that it was missing something, and that something was what would make it great.

I agree that Hit and Run has great potential, and there are some very good moments in it.  Many sources list it as an action comedy, but I think the romantic element is it's most affable quality.  This is Shepard and Bell's second film together since they became a couple in 2007, the first being 'When In Rome'.  With Shepard being writer and director for this latter outing I feel it allows their natural chemistry to shine through.  The film experiences most of it's success in the exploration of their relationship, falling in love, and how that can be effected by what you do or don't know about a person.

Shepard plays Charlie Bronson, who lives in the middle of nowhere under witness protection having been witness to an armed bank robbery.  There he meets and falls in love with Bell's character Annie Bean, a teacher who gets the job offer of a lifetime in LA.  Charlie however, moved away from LA as part of the witness protection program to avoid our bad guy Alex Dmitri, played by Bradley Cooper.  Although Charlie was a witness against Alex, Alex avoided a long jail sentence due to Charlie's involvement as the getaway driver.  A fact that Annie doesn't know about to begin with.  Knowing the job offer is the opportunity of a lifetime, Charlie takes Annie to LA for her interview.  Soon, however, both end up on the run from Alex after he finds out that Charlie has arrived back in town.  As the film, and the chase, goes on, Annie uncovers more about Charlie's past.  Beginning to question if she can still love a person she realises she doesn't know much about.

Shepard does a great job of making the film fun.  I think this is in large part due to the female lead being his now wife, and the multitude of fast cars and car chases.  A petrol head and motorcycle racer, Dax must have loved all of the car chase scenes in the film.  Getting the rare opportunity to have his cake, and eat it.

My only real criticism of the film is when we uncover the true nature of the relationship between Charlie and Alex, Alex as a bad guy becomes less sinister.  Although this in turn makes the focus more on Charlie and Annie's relationship issues.  While this is where the films strength lies, it also highlights the fact that the film would be much improved if we got to explore that changing relationship further.  Many of the films highlights come from the dialogue between Charlie and Annie.

Definitely watchable if you haven't seen it already.  Especially for a date night.