"Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory" - spy thriller directed by Kenneth Branagh

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Cold War is long gone, but its impact on culture has not yet weakened. In recent years, many popular spy novels of that period have been filmed in the United States. The plot of some of them ("Spy, get out!") Turns into a script for a motion picture, having undergone minimal changes. And others are adapting to modern reality. The latter includes the film "Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory". Despite the constellation of excellent actors who played in it, as well as good box office, this project was the weakest in the entire series of films about the adventures of Jack Ryan.

A little about the main character

Jack Ryan (photo below) is a character invented by the famous American novelist Tom Clancy. The author dedicated more than a dozen works to him, many of which were filmed. At the moment, 5 films have been shot about this hero, in which he was played by different actors: "The Hunt for Red October" (Alec Baldwin), "Patriot Games" and "Direct and Present Danger" (Harrison Ford), "The Price of Fear" (Ben Affleck) and Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory (Chris Pine).

As for the biography of the character, it is known that John Patrick Ryan, whomcalled Jack, born in B altimore in 1950

Educated at Boston College. Jack planned to become a Marine, but during one of the training sorties he was injured and retrained as an investment broker. He was later recruited by the CIA, where he was a consultant for a long time. Ryan specialized in the USSR, and later in the Russian Federation. With its help, many conspiracies against the United States by various countries were prevented.

Over time, Jack became President of the United States and served two terms in this post.

As for his personal life, having met in his youth with a student-trainee from a medical school, Carolina "Katie" Muller, Jack started an affair with her, and eventually married. This marriage produced 4 children.

Movie information

In 2014, the fifth film about a brave analyst from the CIA was released. In the original, it had a slightly different name: "Jack Ryan: Shadow Mercenary."

After the success of the previous film about this character (it earned three times more at the box office than it was invested in), the producers dreamed of making another tape. However, due to problems with funding, as well as with the search for a director, it was not until 2008 that work began on pre-production.

If the previous films of the cycle were based on the novels of Tom Clancy, then for the new project, Adam Kozad and David Koepp wrote an original script that used elements of Ryan's biography. Perhaps that is why, despite the excellent directori althe work of Kenneth Branagh and good fees, this film is recognized as the weakest among the entire series.

Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory Plot

At the beginning of the film, a short biography of the hero before he was recruited by the CIA is briefly told. Later, the action shifts to 2014, when Jack Ryan works in an investment company in New York, and at the same time advises the CIA.

While investigating the accounts of Russian oligarch Viktor Cherevin with their company, Ryan notices suspicious activity.

Later he reports to the CIA that he suspects the Russian intelligence services of preparing a large-scale operation designed to destroy the US economy.

To confirm his suspicions, Jack Ryan travels to Moscow to audit Cherevin's financial accounts as an employee of a partner company and obtain evidence.

In Moscow, they try to kill the hero, and then they interfere with the check. Then he, with the help of his CIA handler Thomas Harper and fiancee Katie, steals data about the upcoming sabotage from Cherevin's computer.

However, back at home, Jack suspects that the son of an oligarch is planning to commit a terrorist act that will provoke a fall in the US economy. Risking his life, the hero manages to stop the terrorist at the last moment, thereby disrupting the entire operation.

Criticism of the film

Despite the fact that the film doubled the money spent on it at the box office, critics reacted rather coldly to it.

First of all, he caused complaints himselfa script that was no match for Tom Clancy's books. The original works about Jack Ryan differed not only in a gripping plot, but also in carefully written technical details, which cannot be said about the script of the picture "Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory". Thus, the heroes penetrate the computer system of Chereven through the electrical wiring, which seems like nonsense to any person who is at least slightly familiar with the PC device.

The black Russian killer who came to kill Ryan in a Moscow hotel looks no less comical.

If an African-American is a normal phenomenon in the US, then in the Russian Federation, a person with such an appearance is unlikely to be invisible, which is necessary for a hired killer to be successful in his profession.

Also catches the eye is the lack of special effects and action scenes. It looks pretty stupid when Jack Ryan breaks the bulletproof glass of an oligarch's armored car with a stick, or Chereven's attempts to torture his beloved with an energy-saving light bulb. And the landscapes of Moscow hastily drawn on a computer, as well as the explosion in New York, generally give the impression of a very cheap movie.

Movie merits

Despite many negatives, this movie has its positives. These include excellent casting.

Also, one cannot fail to note the good music written especially for the picture by Patrick Doyle.

Despite the many absurdities associated with the screenwriters' attempts to realistically depict life in the Russian Federation, the dialogue betweenKaty and Chereven, in which they discuss Lermontov's poetry.

Jack Ryan - the hero of the film "Chaos Theory" performed by Chris Payne (Pine)

This artist became the fourth performer of the role of Jack Ryan in history. It is worth noting that the choice was successful.

The actor managed to portray a sort of boy scout, forced to act outside the charter. Of course, he is inferior to Harrison Ford, who played in two films of the series, but at the same time he surpasses Ben Affleck. Most likely, Chris got this role because of the resemblance to the first performer - Alec Baldwin.

Before this project, Payne became famous thanks to his participation in various television series ("ER", "Defender", "The Client is Always Dead"), as well as romantic comedies ("The Princess Diaries 2: How to Become a Queen", "Kiss on good luck", "Blind date"). Later, from heroes-lovers, Chris Payne retrained to just heroes ("Uncontrollable", "So War").

Recently, the actor is most famous for his participation in the films of the Star Trek series.

Keira Knightley as Cathy Muller

Another star in this project, which was supposed to attract the attention of the audience, was the British Kira (Keira) Knightley.

Like Payne, she was cast in this role due to her resemblance to Bridget Moynahan and Ann Archer, who played Cathy in previous films. The actress did not bring anything particularly new to the image of her heroine, while playing her quite organically.

BeforeParticipation in the project Knightley became famous thanks to the series of paintings "Pirates of the Caribbean", as well as roles in costume dramas ("Pride and Prejudice", "The Duchess", "Atonement", "Anna Karenina").

Other actors

In addition to Knightley and Payne, other famous actors starred in the film. One of them was Kevin Costner, an action movie star of the 80s and 90s. He played Ryan's mentor, Thomas Harper.

It is also worth noting the director of the picture - Sir Kenneth Branagh. As the head of the entire filming process, he tried his best to make a good film, and most of the sins of the project are not his fault. By the way, the director himself played the role of the main villain in the film - Viktor Cherevin.

Although, according to the plot, many scenes take place in Moscow, there are only two Russian actors in the project. They are the young actress Elena Velikanova and the legendary ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

The film "Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory", despite the good acting, is rather weak. However, due to good box office performance, a sequel may be made in the future.