This film is exciting and suspenseful and that has more than a little bit to do with the talk of terrorism and nuclear threats are so pervasive in the news today. Oliver Cromwell plays the dumb president, Morgan Freeman plays the slightly more intelligent Seceretary of State John Cabot, and Ben Afflect plays our hero, CIA operative Jack Ryan. We've supposedly seen him before in Clear and Present Danger, but it was a different actor from a movie that has long since been forgotten since its release a decade ago, so there's not much of a sequel feel to it. This leads to the only real drawback of the movie: since we're expected to be familiar with these guys, there's virtually no development of the characters. I'm not criticizing the actors, but at the end of the movie I left knowing nothing about the characters other than their names, their job titles, and that they all shared a common goal of preventing the nation from being blown up. However, the story in which CIA analyst Jack Ryan tries to uncover a plot to bring Russia and the United States to the brink of nuclear war, more than makes up for the lack of characterization. It moves at an exciting pace, it is packed with plenty of action, and it has the same draw as TV shows like Alias, 24, The Agency, and West Wing, taking us behind the scenes of an important government agency which we otherwise wouldn't have access to. The difference here is that we know we're seeing something authentic because Tom Clancy does his homework. The story is bold and unpredictable but Affleck's character comes through in an exciting climax, where he has to give a persuasive speech to both his own president and the leader of Russia to avoid an all-out war. If you don't live in the Greater Baltimore Area, it's a happy ending! *** out of ****
Review of The Sum of All Fears
