Hey everyone and welcome to a new ranking! Since I recently reviewed Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse I thought I might as well share my thoughts on the other big features that are based on his works. This includes Without Remorse and the five theatrical Jack Ryan films that have been made throughout the decades. As a point of references this is a franchise I have just fairly recently started getting into, without having read a single Tom Clancy novel, but being familiar with the cultural impact he has made with his works. Plus I do enjoy spy/espionage thrillers quite a bit and this just seemed like a series that was geared towards me, so I was bound to catch up with it sooner or later. With that said let’s dive right in and see my general thoughts on the cinematic incarnations of the author’s work!
6. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
As a note of clarification I do not outright dislike any of these movies as each one does have it’s merits and are very much watchable. With Shadow Recruit though it’s probably the one with the least stand out aspects for me and it is fairly run of the mill. Admittedly delving into the origins of Jack Ryan is an interesting concept and I think Chris Pine is pretty solid in the role, even if I don’t think he fully makes the character his own as much as previous actors. Also the main plotline involving a scheme to crash the U.S. economy is pretty standard stuff with not much done to make it stand out in execution, Keira Knightley, while good and has some solid moments as Ryan’s girlfriend, eventually just becomes a damsel in distress and much of the action is done in a Shaky cam style where it became hard to comprehend what was going on. That being said it still is well acted with Kevin Costner playing the experienced mentor figure quite well and Kenneth Branagh making for an interesting villain, there are a number of moments that succeed in bringing a good amount of intensity and I think the potential was there for a really good reboot that could’ve brought new layers to the character. It definitely is a film that could have been better in my eyes, but I can appreciate some of the directions it tried to take this concept and character.
5. Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse
The most recent entry on this list (and the only one to not have Jack Ryan in it), since I did a review on this one I’ll keep this one fairly brief. This one also has a pretty standard revenge/conspiracy story that went through the expected beats, the scenes of exposition were rather dull, and the twist that was set up was pretty easy to see coming. But it does have some very well done action scenes that are nicely shot and make neat use of military tactics and techniques while Michael B. Jordon is just great as the lead character bringing so much emotion and a calculated calmness to his performance that he becomes an engaging presence to watch. While I do think certain areas could have been improved I still would be open to seeing another installment with Michael B. Jordon in the lead as I am genuinely curious as to where this character will go next.
4. The Sum of All Fears
Now here is one of the lesser regarded installments as it never seems to be brought up in a positive light, at least when compared to the others. After having seen it I don’t quite understand why as I found it to be an engaging political thriller with great actors filling out the cast. I guess similar to Pine, Ben Affleck while still good doesn’t quite leave his own mark as the character and doesn’t get quite as much meaty material to chew on compared to the others and it can drag at times. Still I thought the main conflict going on with the U.S. and Russia and the threat involving nuclear warfare and WWIII was investing providing enough intrigue, and you’ve got actors like Morgan Freeman, Liev Schrieber, James Cromwell, and Ciraran Hinds among others playing their parts well especially when the conflict of morality starts to heat up and everything becomes uncertain of who is really behind these attacks. Plus there are some very well handled sequences that had me on the edge of my seat and did a great job of conveying the emotions of those involved with the nuclear explosion in Boston being a particular stand out in this regard. Easily the most underrated of the bunch for me as there isn’t anything outright terrible about it and I do wish that Affleck could have gotten another shot in a follow up.
3. Patriot Games
Harrison Ford’s debut as Jack Ryan proved to be a strong one with this entry as he get more of the focus this time around after serving as a co lead in Hunt for Red October. Right off the bat he does a great job as Ryan showing off the character’s analytical side in a believable manner while also still digging into his humanity with the relationship he has with his family which serves as the emotional crutch of the film makes one want to see Ryan bring Sean Miller’s (played by Sean Bean who makes for a solidly intimidating villain here) terrorist group to justice. The whole cast is just excellent all around and it is a genuinely intense thriller with many sequences that had me on the edge of my seat as I was invested in seeing Ryan and his family get out of the situations they were in and most of the action is well done. While I would have liked to have seen a bit more from some of the supporting players I still like this one a lot.
2. Hunt for Red October
Not gonna lie it was a close race for the top spot between this an my number one pick as I do love both movies a lot. This is the one that started it all and it remains a thrilling feature to this day. I really like the way the whole plot unfolds where we are introduced to Sean Connery’s Soviet Union captain, Marko Ramius and see him try to navigate him and his crew to U.S. waters with the Soviets and Jack Ryan trying to figure out what his true motives are. While we quickly get an idea of his true motives, the U.S. doesn’t, so there is a genuine interest in seeing what goes down and it often plays like an exciting game of cat and mouse. Adding to that, John McTiernan does an excellent job conveying the intensity of the situation and takes advantage of the limited space in the submarine to make it feel like an enclosed environment where the crew is on their own. Commanding the screen though is Sean Connery who gives an excellent performance as the titular captain by setting him up as a mysterious, and perceptive individual who grabs one’s attention and I was always interested in seeing what he would do next. As for Alec Baldwin as Ryan himself, he is very good in the role and is a solid contrast in personality to Ramius and the rest of the stacked cast including James Earl Jones, Tim Curry, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, and more play their roles nicely. Just an engrossing thriller from beginning to end that stands stall among action films of that era.
And my personal favorite Tom Clancy film is…
Clear and Present Danger
Again very tough choice for number 1, but I decided to go with Ford’s second outing as Jack Ryan and it works so well for me. It’s a highly engaging thriller with a breakneck pacing that is goes bigger in terms of scale and even more upfront about it’s politics, yet delves into them in a compelling and interesting way that adds to the story being told. There are twists and turns and cover ups to be unfolded and all of it is engrossing to watch as we see Ryan try to find the truth. Ford is once again giving it his all as Ryan is a higher position of power and is facing a conflict that is bigger than he could possibly imagine while Willem Dafoe makes for a great John Clark who is something of a darker version of Ryan. Henry Czerny is also a stand out as the arrogant and cynical CIA Operations Deputy Director, Robert Ritter, and he gets one of my favorite scenes in the movie, a computer hacking battle between him and Ryan as the latter tries to access classified intel which is edited and shot in an intense manner and it proves to be just as suspenseful as any one of the strong action beats, including the stand out convoy ambush in Colombia which seems to be a source of inspiration for any number of sequences in a number of modern action films. In all it’s an all around fantastic action thriller that had me invested and it contains so much of what I enjoy about these kinds of movies and that’s why it is my favorite of the Tom Clancy films.
And that about wraps up my ranking of the major Tom Clancy films. What did you guys think? Do you agree or not agree with my picks? Are you a fan of Red October or Ford’s films? Do you find The Sum of All Fears underrated as well? Maybe your a defender of Shadow Recruit? It’s always great to hear different opinions and I would love to see yours! This is overall a solid set of films where I don’t outright dislike any of them (Shadow Recruit is more of a mixed bag for me) and the ones I like, I REALLY like as they provide fantastic thrills and intrigue while being extremely well crafted pictures. I’m definitely looking forward in seeing what is next for this IP as it’s one that has explored many different forms of media which just goes to show how influential Clancy’s works are and why his name will always be as recognizable as it is.
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 