Kenneth Branagh a Shakespearean Friendly Actor/Director is Always an Interesting Filmmaker. His Dead Again (1991) is an Overlooked Neo-Noir that just Snaps with Style. Branagh is Behind and In Front of the Camera in this Modern Update of the Tom Clancy Cold Warrior.
This is a Spy Movie of the Old School with Very Limited CGI as it goes for the Suspense Thing and does it Quite Well. It Moves at a Rapid Pace and has Enough Set Up to Reinsert the Character and the Today of a Wall Street Ticking Time Bomb.
The Russians are Still the Bad Guys here and there is some Chatter about Afghanistan and how it Chews Up the Gung-Ho Kids of Superpowers. The Trio of Lead Alpha-Male Actors Chris Pine, Branagh, and Kevin Costner as a Military-Cia Veteran are all Called to Duty and Serve Admirably.
Not So for the Female (Keira Knightley) and it Might be a Case of Miscasting but the Character (Ryan's Finance) Comes Off as a Toothy Whine and the Expression Never Seems to Change in Ever Changing Situations.
Overall Die-Hard Action Fans may be Disappointed but this is a Refreshing Diversion from All the Overblown Stuff that Lands in the Multiplexes and Disc Machines. A Perfectly Professional, Tightly Wound Restart of a Character that did have His Day. Time will Tell if this Clancy Stuff will have Any Weight with Moderns.
This is a Spy Movie of the Old School with Very Limited CGI as it goes for the Suspense Thing and does it Quite Well. It Moves at a Rapid Pace and has Enough Set Up to Reinsert the Character and the Today of a Wall Street Ticking Time Bomb.
The Russians are Still the Bad Guys here and there is some Chatter about Afghanistan and how it Chews Up the Gung-Ho Kids of Superpowers. The Trio of Lead Alpha-Male Actors Chris Pine, Branagh, and Kevin Costner as a Military-Cia Veteran are all Called to Duty and Serve Admirably.
Not So for the Female (Keira Knightley) and it Might be a Case of Miscasting but the Character (Ryan's Finance) Comes Off as a Toothy Whine and the Expression Never Seems to Change in Ever Changing Situations.
Overall Die-Hard Action Fans may be Disappointed but this is a Refreshing Diversion from All the Overblown Stuff that Lands in the Multiplexes and Disc Machines. A Perfectly Professional, Tightly Wound Restart of a Character that did have His Day. Time will Tell if this Clancy Stuff will have Any Weight with Moderns.