Jack Ryan- Shadow Recruit

Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9KAnx4EvaE

Not to boast, but my viewing of Jack Ryan was probably better than yours. Whereas all the other films I review are viewed in (the no means bad seats of) Cineworld- Jack Ryan got the premier screen- Dubai treatment. Luckily it wasn't just the ridiculously nice setting that made Jack Ryan a good day out.

Jack Ryan- Shadow Recruit is a big action-ey international spy thriller and feels like a younger brother of Mission Impossible. It's not as epic and flashy in terms of stunts and set-pieces but there's still gunfire and the occasional explosion to keep the adrenaline going.

Chris Pine plays the likable protagonist and as much as he's not the most interesting of characters he does feel very human. This is an origin story and a highlight scene is where Ryan goes through the emotional turmoil of killing a man for the first time. You see the kill has shaken him up a bit and it's what makes Jack Ryan different from say Bond or Ethan Hunt.

This isn't to say that Jack Reacher is by any means a masterpiece however. As much as it's all good fun all the action has been done before and at points feels comically cliched. There are car chases, fights in hotel rooms and to top it off a bomb with a timer that ticks second by second down to zero. As a popcorn film it's excellent. But it's not going to stick with you for days.

In terms of a villain, Kenneth Branagh does a good job of playing the stereotypical Russian baddy, continuing the tradition of action movie cliches. He's pretty menacing but not exactly terrifying. He is just your average comic book bad guy but in this film it's a nice fit.

Jack Ryan is the movie you think of when someone says 'we went out for tea then saw a movie'. It feels familiar, the action all looks nice and exciting and you leave thinking 'yeah that was pretty good, now what will I do next today'. It's a thrill ride but not the one in the theme park with an hour long queue.

7/10