Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) is a graduate student in economics, almost done with his PhD, on 9/11. Eighteen months later, his helicopter is shot down in Afghanistan. He manages to rescue his two team mates, but not without severe damage to his spinal column. His physical therapist, Cathy Muller (Keira Knightly), pushes him mercilessly to walk again without crutches. Maybe that’s why she becomes his steady girlfriend. Then he’s approached by Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner), his one-time mentor, who reveals that he is also working for the CIA. It’s back to school for Jack, and then a job with a very high power financial firm with clients all over the world, including a large number in Russia – all of whom are holding American securities and currency, and too many of whose files Jack can’t get into. It’s starting to shape up as an attempt to destroy the American economy in concert with a terrorist attack. It’s off to Russia for Jack, to conduct an audit. Things start to go down the toilet when Jack’s “bodyguard” tries to kill him.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this one, but the combination of Pine, Costner, and Branagh – who not only directed, but appears as Viktor Cherevin, Jack’s contact in Moscow -- was enough to give it an edge. I was quite pleasantly surprised.
It’s a very tight film that moves at a good brisk pace – and the actions scenes were perfectly place and perfectly executed. The tension this film generates, as Jack is trying to crack the files and find out when and where the attack is going to happen, is amazing – I was on the edge of my seat, almost literally. (And given theater seats these days, that’s saying something.)
The cast, as might be expected, is perfect. I can’t fault anyone on anything.
(Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, 2014) PG-13, 105 minutes. Full credits at IMDb.
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