Ranking Every Jack Ryan Film Worst To Best

Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck or Chris Pine... who comes out on top?

By Scott Campbell /

Jack Ryan first appeared in the pages of Tom Clancy's debut novel The Hunt for Red October in 1984, and over 35 years later the character still remains relevant today, with John Krasinski the latest to step into the CIA analyst's shoes for Amazon's exclusive series that has quickly become a firm favorite for dads around the world.

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Having initially been cast in April 2016, Krasinksi is now the longest-tenured actor to have played Jack Ryan, despite the literary creation being the subject of five movies that took place across three decades. With a third season recently announced, it looks like the former star of The Office is set to continue in the role for a while yet.

Which is probably for the best, because we've already had four different actors play Jack Ryan on the big screen to mixed results, and following the disappointing Shadow Recruit the by-the-book doctor doesn't seem to fit the mold of what modern audiences require from the espionage genre.

That being said, Jack Ryan has had some memorable adventures on the big screen and whether you're a supporter of Baldwin, Ford, Affleck or Pine, the franchise delivers enough thrills and excitement to offer something for everyone.

5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

The Bourne trilogy, Daniel Craig's Bond movies and the resurgent Mission: Impossible franchise had redefined the spy genre for the 21st Century, and by the time Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit came along there seemed to be little place in this brave new world for Tom Clancy's creation.

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Director Kenneth Branagh pulled double duty as the villain, and assembled a star-studded cast led by Chris Pine, backed by Keira Knightley and Kevin Costner. Pine gives his best and Costner brings a grizzled charisma to his exposition-heavy supporting role, but Knightley hardly seems interested at all as the thankless damsel in distress.

Not a terrible movie by any means, but often a painfully generic and formulaic one that brought little to the table in the way of originality, Shadow Recruit did little to convince people that the new and improved Jack Ryan was worth their time, and suffered the worst reviews and lowest box office totals in the 20-year history of the franchise as a result.

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