Dear Deborah,

"Movie magic" is the idea that you can make something that never was _seem real and compelling. Casting is an under-appreciated part of that. "We need a hooker with a heart of gold." "We need nice old lady with a secret." "We need a person. _With an accent." Your job is to put a face to nothing but a few words on a page. A shadow. And so this year, playing the role of James Bond, as Jason Bourne, as Jack Reacher, is Jack Ryan, the Shadow Recruit. That's the whole movie, a series of disappointing encounters on a re-casting couch for better movies.

Since Clancy is now dead, and he never actually wrote this, he is obviously cast as the author. Or is it the Shadow Author? All things considered, he does his job pretty well. This action movie plays the role of a Clancy techno-thriller reasonably well, as long as no one looks too closely at the gear.

As for the hero and title, I was always cautious about this casting of Jack Ryan as a movie hero. In the books, he often didn't do anything pivotal, but he was there when it went down. This was even reflected in some of the movies, with Jack Ryan thrust into situations he was unprepared for. That was part of his charm. In Shadow Recruit, the author's nerd, played by an unlikely action hero, seems to be played by a cross between a space ninja and pretty-boy robocop (even if he's only acting like one: Movie Magic!).

Don't get me wrong. I think you did quite a good job casting this movie with people. Chris Pine, playing the role of Sam Worthington circa 2010, the man who was in every single movie you saw that year, excels. He has charisma and enthusiasm, and it's enjoyable to watch him fall into the spy business and watch his world get turned upside down. Kiera Knightly and Kevin Costner play timeless roles of lover and mentor that any hero needs.

It was a little sketchy with Kenneth Branagh, though. He was well cast as the villain, a Russian Hans Gruber. He delivers his lines with relish, and the camera gives him lots of attention. Unfortunately, that's because the role of Director of the Movie is played by a cautious film student also played by Branagh. The conflict is clear. Deborah, you should have cast someone else in the role of John McTiernan or Paul Greengrass. Just a thought.

Since the story, directions, and roles are pretty much simulated, it's clear that soon they'll be doing this kind of movie alchemy with computers. "What if Meryl Streep played a Nazi Lieutenant played by Brad Pitt? Please wait. Loading…" You worry about your job, and we will worry about the movies we'll have to see.