Kernel Rating (out of 5): 
MPAA Rating: PG-13 Length: 105 minutes
Age Appropriate For: 13+. Some cursing; a couple waking up in bed together; some feigned alcoholism and drug use; some hand-to-hand fighting, assassination attempts, and discussion of torture methods. All part of your typical spy thriller; the part that might shock younger audiences is when a missile blows up a helicopter and the protagonist’s bloody, battered, bruised body is shown in close up—it’s the most realistically violent part of the film.
‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’ is a reboot of Tom Clancy’s well-known character, but it’s a surprisingly boring one. Was this retread of Cold War politics really supposed to surprise audiences?
By Roxana Hadadi
Tom Clancy passed away last year in Baltimore, the city where his most iconic character, Jack Ryan, is from. He left behind an impressive paperback legacy, and it makes sense, from a Hollywood standpoint, to reboot Jack Ryan after numerous film attempts to capture Clancy’s vibe. But “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is not going to do it—this is a boring, dated-feeling film, surprising in how much it isn’t surprising.
