t the London School of Economics, crowds gather in front of a television, frantically trying to glimpse updates about the attack on the Twin Towers in New York. American John “Jack” Patrick Ryan (Chris Pine) is particularly transfixed – and inspired. 18 months later, he’s a Marine lieutenant in Afghanistan, in the heat of the conflict, riding in a helicopter that gets attacked by a missile. He survives, but the resulting injuries to his spine find him undergoing a lengthy rehabilitation, struggling to regain his ability to walk. “That guy’s done in this war.”

As Ryan flirts with medical student Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley), Navy Commander Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner) – working for the CIA (or so he claims) – keeps an eye on the former soldier, interested in his proficiency in collating data. Sure enough, it’s not long before he’s recruited to work secretly for a shadowy division as an analyst researching the funding of terrorism. 10 years later, his discovery of Russian money involved in the political manipulation of the U.S. dollar, twinned with a terrorist attack, causes his superiors to want him to personally go to Moscow to get to the bottom of it. Of course, living a double life as an ordinary compliance officer for a Wall Street firm while working undercover for an elite spy organization doesn’t bode well for his personal life with Cathy, who is now his fiancee. “Don’t lose faith in me.”

Despite his training and instincts, Ryan is in over his head, the target of assassination attempts by people who know too much about him. Strangely, instead of having seasoned, knowledgeable agents on the scene, the rookie is kept on the mission, forced to become operational and continue risking his life. As an underdog, he’s perhaps a more sympathetic lead, but his position of sustained vulnerability – amplified by Cathy’s suspicions about infidelity – tend to be more aggravating than rousing. And she’s suspiciously understanding and capable of joining in on the adventure, as if the potential deadliness puts her at ease. “You handled yourself like a hero.”

Typical tradecraft ensues, with covert operations employing jargon and last-second near-misses for contrived suspense. Even the standard 10-minute stalling tactic to infiltrate a heavily-guarded building to steal files (using arcane computer code and imagery) feels routine, employing every trick in the book to orchestrate tension. Nevertheless, the reliance on chase scenes and shootouts and hostage scenarios is effective; when investigatory practices slow things down, dependable action situations prop up the pacing.

It’s a race against the clock, with James Bond-like confrontations and international travel as teams work together to pinpoint a sleeper cell and thwart widespread havoc. Strangely, although it chronicles a believable conflict between Russia and the States, it’s something of a smaller, intimate mission for Ryan, who unbelievably manages to involve himself in every little facet – from meddling with the villainous mastermind’s digital records to rescuing his fiancee from kidnappers’ clutches to locating the actual builder of the weaponry intended for a terror attack. He’s essentially a one-man army, like in so many of these types of spy flicks. Sadly, even with a satisfying finale and director Kenneth Branagh serving doubly as the severe main antagonist, this Tom Clancy-based actioner (a prequel of sorts to the ‘90s Jack Ryan trilogy that started with “The Hunt for Red October”) is exceptionally generic.

– Mike Massie