Rich On Sum Of All Fears

There are a handful of writers whose novels have been adapted to the big screen with constant success. Stephen King is probably the most successful writer so far, with dozens of book-to-film transfers, although his efforts are as often off the mark as bang on.

One man who has seemingly perfected the adaptation is Tom Clancy. His books have transferred well, both critically and commercially, and his Jack Ryan CIA tales provided cinema-goers with an intelligent thriller alongside the big-budget popcorn movies.

After Clear And Present Danger, Patriot Games and The Hunt For Red October, Jack Ryan is back in The Sum Of All Fears. This time it's a young, wet-behind-the-ears version - Ben Affleck. Ryan is just starting out at the CIA and getting together with his wife-to-be. In the meantime, we follow a bomb as it travels towards the East Coast of the USA, via several dodgy characters and countries, as a small group of international terrorist plot to start a war between the United States and Russia.

Panache

A slow build-up of almost constant tension occurs as the young Jack Ryan finds his feet in the CIA - something I found useful, as many of the intricate details in this highly knowledgeable script were explained to us as much as to him. But, almost inevitably, the film loses its way. In book form I imagine it's a tense thriller, but on screen it seems to meander about rather aimlessly.

Affleck is a good leading man but I found him to be a little flat here. He lacks depth and, certainly, originality. The role has been played with more panache by his predecessors and in films of a similar ilk, such as The Rock. In fact, I have to say I was surprised at how unoriginal it all was.

For me, Clear And Present Danger was a top political movie which took a lot of mental energy - the battles were with pens and words, not fists and guns. That's what I expected here but it reaches a point were it comes across as a pure action movie. In fact it was very, very similar to The Rock - but at least that is a Bruckheimer-produced film, and they don't pretend to be anything but popcorn.

Saving grace

Morgan Freeman is the Obi-Wan type mentor and is a large saving grace in a film where the casting director should be shot. The president's cronies have a large amount of screen time, which is a shame because they simply roll out the cliches without pausing for breath. James Cromwell of Babe and LA Confidential fame was a top president the last couple of times but not convincing at all this time. I can't think of one character who was particularly strong, be it the fault of the script or actor. Don't even get me started on Ryan's new girlfriend. If someone had given her an extra dimension, she'd still only have had the one.

There are certainly enough elements of this film to make it worth seeing. It does have a very good story, at least for the majority of the film, and very high production standards. In comparison to what we've seen in recent months, with sequel after sequel saturating the multiplexes, at least this is one which doesn't particularly rely on the others' successes, more on the strength of the plot. The director does lack a little flair but that's standard in franchise film-making, where the lead character is the main focal point.

I usually avoid giving plot details away, especially the end, but The Sum Of All Fears waived its rights when it ripped off The Godfather - although Bugsy Malone did it better. At least now I know why maths and English are the exams to pass at school; these film-makers can clearly read, but seem to have a little trouble with their sums.

Rich
Sky Unit 2 Reception
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