6 Movie Franchises That Were Saved By A Reboot (And 6 That Were Doomed)

12. Doomed: Jack Ryan

Jack Ryan is a character we've become accustomed to seeing recast every few years, with most people in agreement that either Alec Baldwin or Harrison Ford play the definitive cinematic version of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst. It would be incredibly surprising and a little troubling if anybody claimed Chris Pine made the best Jack Ryan, given how instantly forgettable his performance was in Shadow Recruit.

A thriller with very little in the way of thrills and one of those movies you often forgot even existed until you see it mentioned somewhere, Shadow Recruit is about as workmanlike as studio genre movies can get. Reboot and origin story? Check. Young, handsome man named Chris in the lead? Of course. Oscar-winning character actor lending support? Look, it's Kevin Costner. Respected director behind the camera and a British actor playing a foreign villain? Kenneth Branagh can do both!

A frustratingly paint-by-numbers spy flick, Shadow Recruit brought absolutely nothing new to the table at a time when Bourne and Bond had helped redefine what a big budget espionage thriller could be. True to fashion, both the reviews and box office were perfectly okay and nothing more, with Jack Ryan soon shunted off to television with John Krasinski the latest name to take up the mantle.