Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

"The fifth film to feature the Jack Ryan character, this instalment attempts to rebrand its hunky spy for a new decade. We meet him as a budding university student in 2001, before the 9/11 attacks prompt him to sign up and head off to war, eventuating in an act of heroism that leads to his recruitment into the C.I.A."

"Crisp, efficient and appreciably modest in scale...this conspicuous attempt to breathe new life into a long-dormant action franchise gets at least a few things right, chiefly the shrewd casting of Chris Pine."

"The plot’s a bit complex for what amounts to a lot of running around — the movie can’t help but evoke the Bourne series along with a high-gloss hint of Skyfall, not wholly unpleasantly."

"There’s promising raw material here, particularly in the early scenes. But the film’s second half seems determined to snuff out the promise of its first, making it hard to wish for this incarnation of the character, or any, to have more big-screen adventures."

"Yes JR:SR does the talking-acting bits well. But it can't quite match them with action or get past the feeling that this reboot story is an unspectacular retread of so many others."

"Efficient, if ultimately rote, political thriller."

"While Kenneth Branagh does a competent job behind the camera, he’s unaided by a lazy, uninspired and hollow screenplay."