- TOM CLANCY’S JACK RYAN: GHOST WAR
- Starring: John Krasinski, Sienna Miller and Wendell Pierce
- Directed by: Andrew Bernstein
- Rated: R
- Running time: 1 hr 45 mins
- Amazon/MGM Studios
Our score: 4 out 5
Fun fact – before he became a best-selling author, Tom Clancy was a insurance salesman who loved the Orioles and hated the Redskins. More on this later.
The film begins with a mission obviously going bad. The worse. Then it ends. Badly.
While out for a jog, Jack Ryan (Krasinski) finds himself being pursued by mysterious SUV’s. Despite his best efforts he is caught and summoned to meet with his friend, James Greer (Pierce), now Deputy Director of the CIA. He is entrusted with an assignment that, like many of the ones Ryan is given, holds serious consequences. And cue the action!
While I don’t watch the current Amazon Prime Jack Ryan series, I am a big fan of the previous films and I will say that you don’t have to be a fan of the series to enjoy this new adventure. All of the Ryan trademarks are there: using his wits when he has to but not afraid to use his fists. As the adventure travels literally around the world, the stakes, and the action, get bigger.
One thing I’ve noted in the nearly 40 years of Jack Ryan’s existence. He has gone from a book-smart analyst afraid to speak up to a true action hero. Not sure if this is because the various actors who played the role (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine previously) brought some of their on-screen personas with them or just the way the character was intended to evolve. Krasinski plays Ryan as a combination of Baldwin and Ford – doing his best to be one step ahead mentally but still able to protect himself, and others, when the time comes. As Greer, Pierce maintains the gravitas, mixed with sly humor, that James Earl Jones portrayed in the films. The action set-pieces are well staged and the film moves quickly.
Back to my opening sentence. I had season tickets for the Orioles when I lived in Baltimore and would often find myself chatting with Tom Clancy, whose seats were near ours. After the film of “The Hunt for Red October” came out I asked him what he thought and he was very complimentary. One thing he told me was that, when he was writing the book, he always pictured Tom Selleck playing Ryan. I could see hat. Krasinski has a mischievous side to himself, similar to Selleck’s Thomas Magnum. I can see what Clancy was looking for and Krasinski brings the character back to the way it was envisioned. I enjoyed the portrayal so much I may have to start watching the series!
On a scale of zero to five, “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War” receives ★★★★