2014 Movie Preview: #13 - Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Release date: January 17

Plot summary: Based on the Jack Ryan character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy, the film is a contemporary action thriller set in the present day. The original story, written by David Koepp, follows a young Jack as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.

My take: As usual, a film makes my yearly preview list two years in a row due to a date change. Some times those reschedulings are a red flag that there are problems with the film, but I have a feeling that this reboot of the Jack Ryan franchise simply moved out of its original December release date because it did not want to get lost in the crowded marketplace (several films released in the past couple of weeks have struggled due to stiff competition). Chris Pine is a solid lead and I am hoping he can re-invigorate this franchise in the same way he did for the Star Trek films.

Back into the Shadows

After news earlier this week about George Clooney's The Monuments Men getting pushed back to 2014, we get news today that another film has abandoned its December release date. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit will now also move to early 2014. Here's the full story from EW.com.

EW has confirmed that Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit has dropped off the Christmas release schedule and will now open Jan. 17, 2014

The Paramount Pictures’ action movie is based on characters from late author Tom Clancy and stars Chris Pine (Star Trek) as a young CIA analysis who uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack. Kenneth Branagh (Valkyrie), Kevin Costner (Man of Steel), and Kiera Knightly (Anna Karenina) will also star alongside Pine in the upcoming action thriller directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Could a Christmas Day release date announcement for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street be just around the corner? The speculation remains high that Jack Ryan’s move could be a strategic effort by Paramount to announce a Dec. 25 release date for Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) and Matthew McConaughey (Mud).

Moving Wolf Of Wall Street into Jack Ryan’s old release date of Christmas Day would effectively keep the film in the running for the Oscars but as of yet, Paramount has not commented on whether they will release the Scorsese film before the end of the year not.

If you aint Ryan, you aint trying

The release of the first trailer for the new film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit takes on a more somber tone with the news this week of the passing of author Tom Clancy, who was the creator of the Jack Ryan character. While this film is based on an original story, it seems to still be very much rooted in the themes of geopolitics that Clancy was known for in his books. You can check out the trailer for yourself below.