Tom Clancy novels have been made into films in the past. The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger are all films based on Tom Clancy novels that had the CIA agent Jack Ryan as the key player in a spy thriller. Clancy and fans of his novels have been less than enthusiastic with the film adaptations The latest, The Sum of All Fears is more likely to please fans of his books than the astute moviegoers as it is a flawed yet thrilling film.
In this film, Ben Affleck takes on the role of CIA agent Jack Ryan that has previously been played by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford. Ryan is an analyst who suddenly becomes of interest to the CIA Director William Cabot (Morgan Freeman) when a change of power occurs in Russia and someone Ryan wrote in-depth reports about comes to power. There is some Russian drama going on here but at the same time we see that a rogue Nazi/Aryan group based in Germany is trying to get their hands on a nuclear weapon to use it to start a war. They do get it and there is a very dramatic act of terrorism that is sweeping in it's destruction (if you've seen the commercial or trailer you know what I mean). It is almost surreal to be watching such things in a movie theater when they are real close to being the headlines right now.
Speaking of the trailer and commercials for this movie, it ends up being a disappointment from a special effects and action standpoint. The dramatic scene of destruction that occurs in the trailer and commercial is really the only scenes of such magnitude in the same movie. Usually when you see something spectacular in a trailer, you expect that that is just a small part of the dramatic scene and special effects. In this case, it is the only scene of that magnitude. Maybe I wanted a disaster movie. Well just in case you are thinking there is going to be a bunch of elongated nuclear destruction, what you see in the commercials is all there is of that.
The story overall is very intriguing and interesting; it is something that could almost be out of today's headlines. Despite that, there remains the feeling that something is missing from this film, that it lacks substance. Director Phil Alden Robinson (Sneakers, Field of Dreams) does do a good job of getting us to the edge of our seat and biting our nails on this one, but that is about it. The level of suspense is not as strong as in some thrillers, but it does keep you interested and entertained. There are holes in the story here and there and a real bit of cheesy sentimentality to it that seems extremely contrived (are you sure Jerry Bruckheimer didn't make this?). The acting is tolerable from Affleck who always seems a bit strange in the "hero" role. Liev Schreiber is very good as a CIA spy John Clark; James Cromwell is also good as the President. Morgan Freeman seems like the same guy he's been in every movie he's done for Paramount since Kiss the Girls.
Not quite the masterful smashing thriller that this movie lauds itself to be, it is not without merit. An engaging story that creates a strong sense of suspense works well despite some not so great acting by main characters and a big chunk of the movie being given away in the trailer. If you like spy thrillers you won't want to miss this one. Otherwise you may want to wait until this hits DVD.
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