It's sad news that Tom Clancy has died ahead of the restart of the Jack Ryan franchise, but then again maybe it's a blessing that he won't be able to see what Hollywood has made of his character without his input. Mind you, the initial fears I had about the film have been pushed back a little after seeing the trailer for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

I had envisioned something akin to a high-explosive action adventure, Die Hard meets Mission: Impossible, and while there is a lot of that there are still plenty of suggestions of characters and politics, things that could make a Jack Ryan film good, if not great.

The film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit which is due out at Christmas will take us back to the early days of the character of Jack Ryan, seeing him as a CIA analyst who uncovers a huge plot by Russia to bring down the American economy.

There's a strong cast list behind the film too with the leading man being played by Chris Pine and backed by Keira Knightley as his wife, Kevin Costner as a senior CIA agent, and Kenneth Branagh as the Russian bad guy. There are some good supporting names in the cast list too.

With David Koepp involved in the script you would expect a strong thriller element with plenty of action to it and that's what it looks like the trailer delivers.

Then there's the key element here, the director Kenneth Branagh. While I might still have reservations about how the film will turn out, my hope is pinned on this man to deliver something more than just a Hollywood action adventure, something I felt he did well with Thor (Filmstalker review).

Here's the Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit trailer through TrailerAddict to see what you make of it. I think it might just deliver something surprisingly strong and not turn into another Die Hard type film. Mind you I'm still not sure about Chris Pine being in the leading role, how long will it be before you shake Kirk off of that face and accept him as Ryan?