A ★★ review of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

Having rewatched all the Jack Ryan films, the rule is pretty clear: the more Jack is an action hero, the worse the film is. And Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is the most action-y Jack there is. Kenneth Branagh’s reboot of the franchise commits the one-two sin combo of being remarkably arcane with its convoluted villain of sinking US markets while also being far too po-faced about it all. This story – an original tale, not adapted from any Tom Clancy novel – falls into that late ‘00s to early ‘10s trap of trying to be too serious when that’s not