Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit IMAX ***

A passable popcorn spy thriller, with current tech gadgets and savvy links to the social media zeitgeist, fight and car-chase action, and a hero who uses his brain. It's Chris Pine's appeal that holds it all together, with fine work from Kenneth Branagh and Kiera Knightly. The story is clear enough, although a murder attempt out of nowhere, while exciting, is not explained or particularly logical. Other than that, the plot makes sense, and we are told just enough to keep up the suspense and to provide those satisfying aha moments.

This latest incarnation of the Tom Clancy characters starts with an extended introduction to the Chris Pine version of Jack Ryan, who interrupted his doctoral dissertation after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan. Gravely injured in a helicopter crash where he showed bravery and selfless concern for his men, he met a lovely doctor in training (Kiera Knightly) during his agonizing rehab. Clearly the kind of smart patriot who would be of use, he's recruited by the CIA in the person of naval officer Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner) to finish his studies and get embedded on Wall Street.

Ten years later, he's a trusted analyst on Wall Street in a firm with Russian partners and living with the lovely doctor. Something odd is going on with the Russian accounts, so Jack goes to Moscow to audit. It's this trip that changes his job description from desk worker to operations. The scheme is ambitious and a huge threat to the U.S. The Russian company is led by a cold operator with deep ties to the government (an excellent Kenneth Branagh, who also directed). Their showdown in Moscow is the heart of the movie and deftly handled. With the machinery now clearly in place, I wouldn't mind seeing another episode.