The Sum of All Fears (2002)

CIA analyst Jack Ryan must thwart the plans of a terrorist faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's newly elected president by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore.

Director:

Phil Alden Robinson

Writers:

Tom Clancy (novel), Paul Attanasio (screenplay),

Stars:

Ian Mongrain, Russell Bobbitt, Morgan Freeman

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian Mongrain	...	Syrian Radar Operator
Russell Bobbitt	...	Israeli Pilot
James Cromwell	...	President Fowler
Ken Jenkins	...	Admiral Pollack
Bruce McGill	...	National Security Advisor Revell
John Beasley	...	General Lasseter
Morgan Freeman	...	DCI William Cabot
Philip Baker Hall	...	Defense Secretary Becker
Al Vandecruys	...	US STRATCOM Colonel
Richard Cohee	...	Mt. Weather General
Philip Pretten	...	President's Military Aide
Alison Darcy	...	Fowler's Aide
Richard Marner	...	President Zorkin
Ostap Soroka	...	Zorkin's Translator
Robert Martin Robinson	...	Zorkin's Interviewer

Storyline

When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.

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Plot Keywords:

cia | russia | nuclear bomb | terrorist | scientist | 

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Taglines:

27,000 Nuclear Weapons. One Is Missing.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disaster images and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Russian Ukrainian German Arabic

Release Date:

31 May 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

La suma de todos los miedos

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,156,633 (Australia) (30 August 2002)

Gross:

$621,647 (South Africa) (27 September 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Mace Neufeld Productions, MFP Munich Film Partners GmbH & Company I. Produktions KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matt Damon had a cameo as a waiter, but it was cut from the final film.

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Goofs

As the aircraft carrier is being attacked there is a shot of the flight crew and pilots racing for the fighters. In the wide shot of the crippled carrier there isn't a single crew member visible.

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Quotes

President Fowler: We gotta update these fire drills, Billy. I mean, if the shit ever hits the fan, I'm not going underground. This place is a goddamn tomb down there!
Bill Cabot: We've also gotta choose someone else to face off against besides the Russians all the time.
President Fowler: Really? Let's see. Who else has 27,000 nukes for us to worry about?
Bill Cabot: It's the guy with one I'm worried about.

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Connections

References The Paper Chase (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Rise Up"
Written by Eric Wikman & James Donaldson
Performed by Sunkids featuring Chance
Courtesy of Yellorange Productions, Inc.

User Reviews

Enthralling film. LOVED IT

After reading several negative reviews, I was shocked when I finally saw `The sum of all fears'. I simply LOVED this movie . It was totally thrilling. It had all the ingredients of a great adventure and to top it off it was visually poetic and emotionally stirring.

I never read the book this is based on, and I'm not a Tom Clancy fan. I came into this movie expecting to hate it, because I have hated all the other films in the Jack Ryan series. They were too dry and technical, lacking immediacy or emotion and they felt more like lectures on the way government works and how the military operates than movies. Those films were made for Tom Clancy fans. The sum of all fears was made for a different audience, which is unfortunate since it is based on one of his novels. There is no doubt that it crosses the line into fantasy several times for dramatic effect. Things happen that probably wouldn't happen in real life. People do things that are impossibly heroic and unrealistic. I'm convinced this is why Clancy fans hate this adaptation. For me, these traits (considered flaws by many people) helped free the movie from the constraints of absolute realism, allowing it to become more poetic and powerful than it ever could be otherwise.

Director Phil Alden Robinson deserves most of the praise for this film. He's a new name for me, but looking at his filmography, it was interesting to see that he was the writer and director for field of dreams, another film that I totally loved. He was a very odd choice to helm this film, because field of dreams is a bizarre movie where reality and fantasy meet head on. It's an ultra surreal American fairy tale. It's like a happy David Lynch film, or a Luis Buñuel film with a wholesome center. This is not the kind of director you would normally choose to make a movie like the sum of all fears. The clash between the ultra realism of Clancy's material and Robinson's willingness to forgo realism in favor of dreamy fairy tale lyricism creates a wonderful sense of vibrancy that I would never have anticipated.

After seeing the sum of all fears, I am now convinced that Robinson will go on to make a huge name for himself. He is a truly gifted director with an incredible ability to communicate through images. I can't wait to see his next film. If field of dreams is any indication, he is just good a writer as he is as a director, and I am excited to see what other sorts of ideas he might produce.

The movie also has tremendous performances by Morgan Freeman, and (surprisingly) Ben Affleck. He's way to young to play Jack Ryan, so he doesn't even try. The Jack Ryan in this movie is a reinvented character. He's basically a young guy, with the mentality of an idealist, working his way up in the CIA, while trying to juggle a bachelors social life. For me, he works in this film and he plays that kind of character perfectly.

The bottom line is this: If you love Tom Clancy and you've read every one of his books, you're probably going to hate this movie. If you have never read the book, and have no real interest in Clancy's work, you'll probably at least enjoy it. If your like me, and you don't mind films that let drama interfere with rationality, you'll probably love it.