Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit parents guide

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Parent Guide

For older audiences, this Jack Ryan reboot offers plenty of action.

Overall B

Based on spy novel author Tom Clancy's character, a young Jack Ryan helps the CIA uncover a terrorist plot to sabotage the US economy.

Release date January 17, 2014

Violence C-
Sexual Content B
Profanity D+
Substance Use C+

Why is Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit PG-13 for sequences of violence and intense action, and brief strong language.

Run Time: 106 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Chris Pine is in the enviable position of heading up not one but two film franchises. In 2009 he took the controls of the Enterprise as a young James T. Kirk in the reboot of Star Trek. He and his crew followed up that adventure with another space exploit in Star Trek Into Darkness.. But now Pine has his feet solidly on Earth as Jack Ryan—a role played in the past by Harrison Ford (Clean and Present Danger), Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October) and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears).

In this origin story we meet Jack as a college student at the time of the Twin Towers bombing. In response to the attack, he joins the Marines and is seriously injured when his helicopter is shot down over Afghanistan. During his rehabilitation Jack is approached by C.I.A. agent Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner). After perusing Jack’s service and academic records, the agency wants to recruit him as an undercover agent working as a financial analyst. When Jack discovers some questionable Russian accounts at his bank, he is sent to Moscow for further investigation. What he uncovers there is bigger than bank fraud. It’s a carefully orchestrated plot to bring down the U.S. economy.

The Jack Ryan character was created by Tom Clancy, who died in October 2013 at the age of 66. Clancy had a knack for developing tense situations and dramatic action, mitigated by humor. In the hands of director of Kenneth Branagh (who also plays the movie’s villain Viktor Cherevin), this version of Jack Ryan is no different. Within moments of arriving in his hotel room in Moscow, Jack comes under fire from someone who guesses he not just there to audit the books. Later Jack tries to maintain his cool while asking for an access number from his superior back in the U.S. His boss wants to chitchat, unaware that Russian thugs are descending on Jack like a pack of starving wolves.

The biggest distraction to his work however may be Cathy Mueller (Keira Knightly). They first meet when she is working as a medical student in the rehabilitation facility where Jack is sent to recover. Eventually they move in together. But because they are not married, Jack can’t reveal his real occupation. Cathy senses he’s not being upfront about everything and suspects it’s an affair. Dashing off to Moscow to surprise him, she soon finds herself caught up in a conspiracy involving Viktor Cherevin and his sleeper cell in the States.

While Jack’s burned body as a soldier may be the most graphic injury, the film also depicts point blank shootings, explosions, beatings, stabbings and wild car chases. One character is also kidnapped and briefly tortured. Yet, for older audiences, this Jack Ryan reboot offers plenty of action without blowing up the entire eastern coast.

Hoping Pine will earn the same success as he did in the 2009 Star Trek, Paramount Pictures has a lot riding on this new Jack Ryan. And with any luck, the actor will soon find himself out of the shadows and basking in the limelight of another successful remake.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Starring Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh. Running time: 106 minutes. Theatrical release January 17, 2014. Updated

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Rating & Content Info

Why is Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit rated PG-13? Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of violence and intense action, and brief strong language.

Violence: Violence includes shootings, stabbings, beatings, kidnapping, torture, explosions and car chases. A man is drowned in a bathtub. Characters are choked. A man races through the streets on a motorcycle without a helmet. A character plans to detonate a bomb in the middle of a heavily populated city. A man is shot and left to die on the side of the road. Characters are punched, slapped and kicked. Characters are in perilous situations. A character describes a way to use a light bulb to inflict severe internal injuries.

Sexual Content: A couple wakes up in bed together: bare shoulders and man’s chest are shown. A woman comes out of the shower wearing only a towel. A couple embraces and kisses. Mild sexual references are made.

Language: The script includes a strong sexual expletive, some scatological slang, infrequent profanities and numerous uses of terms of Deity.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Prescription drugs, including Percocet, are used. A man asks for additional pills. Other medical drugs are used for a dying patient. Characters drink at dinner and one character pretends to be drunk.

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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Parents' Guide

This movie is based on a character created by Tom Clancy. The plot is not directly based on any of Clancy’s novels featuring Jack Ryan.

Why does Cathy tell Jack to wait two minutes before he takes his painkillers? What are the dangers of prescription drug use—especially for patients suffering from extreme injuries?

One character says that regrets can pile up around a person like unread books. Can a person live a life without any regrets? What regrets, if any, do you have?

What are the challenges of playing a character that has been portrayed by many other actors, such as James Bond or Superman? What do you think of Pine’s version of Jack Ryan?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit movie is June 10, 2014. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Release Date: 10 June 2014

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit releases to home video (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD

Or DVD) with the following extras:

- Commentary by Kenneth Branagh and Lorenzo di Bonaventura

- Deleted & Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary with Branagh and di Bonaventura

- Four Featurettes

Related home video titles:

Actor Chris Pine plays the younger version of another famous character (Captain James T. Kirk) in the movies Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness. Other movies based on Tom Clancy novels include The Hunt For Red October (Alec Baldwin plays Jack Ryan) and The Sum Of All Fears (Ben Affleck plays Jack Ryan).

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