Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

I'm a fan of Tom Clancy books and the previous movies, but this new installment that goes back to the origins of Jack Ryan, felt a bit too formulaic.  In fact, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, The Recruit, the last Jack Ryan movie The Sum Of All Fears,  and several other wanna be spy movies, although having their moments of being watchable, have suffered from the dilemma of making a distinct mark for themselves caught between being originally and more appropriately written for a Cold War era and how to adapt to the post 9/11, low intensity conflict, that the Jason Bourne movies ushered in.  This time around the recruitment of Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) is explored as he eventually faces a Russian financial terrorist (Kenneth Branagh) attempting to economically collapse the United States.  It's a plausible enough plot in these present times, but where director Branagh fails, is at really giving enough adequate time to adequately explore the origins of Ryan. Thankfully, the CIA recruiter is not played in an exaggerated way like Pacino did in The Recruit but rather well done by Kevin Costner.  The cast, including a surprisingly subdued Keira Knightley as the future Mrs. Ryan, aren't really the problem here. Although Branagh's villanous Russian character is a tad bit too cliche, even for now.   It's the the whole pacing of the film that feels rushed, although Branagh does get some credit for showcasing the whole analyst talents of Ryan.  The 2nd half feels generic and rushed and as a whole it can't help but to use the whole camera work, lighting aesthetics, etc., of the Bourne series to try and hopefully resuscitate a dead in the water franchise last fucked up by Ben Affleck and company twelve years ago; which is unfortunate.  There's nothing new in this film and the character of Jack Ryan has not been consistent enough in film since the early 90's, nor as popular or distinguishable as Bond or Bourne. Unfortunately Chris Pine is cut and pasted onto the rather flagging franchise, but neither he, Branagh, or anyone else seemed to be able to raise the bar to step into real distinction and momentum worthy of a sequel.