I went into "The Sum of All Fears" expecting to be disappointed by Ben Affleck. I'm not really a fan of much of his dramatic work ("Changing Lanes" is an exception). I have not seen the other Jack Ryan movies, but I still didn't really think Affleck would make a credible CIA agent. So I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. It certainly isn't Oscar material, but he is very credible, which was more than I was expecting. The supporting cast is also quite good, especially the always impressive Morgan Freeman as Affleck's mentor and Ciaran Hinds as the Russian president.
Speaking of the Russian president, I was impressed by the way the film portrayed him. Usually, foreign leaders in films are very one-dimensional. President Nemerov, however, is very well developed, with clear motivations for his actions. He is not the evil madman Hollywood commonly makes foreigners (especially Russians) out to be. In fact, he is arguably a better person than the film's American president. So I commend the writers for that.
However, despite the acting and the good characters I did not really enjoy this film. Why? Because it's supposed to be suspenseful, and it's not. I know that Jack Ryan is trying to avert a major world crisis, but having him run around with a cell phone and type on computers does not generate much suspense. This is what a lot of the film, including the "climax" basically comes down to. The film is not deep enough to be a serious drama, so it needs the suspense and the action to deliver. Unfortunately, this does not happen. Although "The Sum of All Fears" does have some good qualities, it ultimately fails to deliver the basic needs of the genre, so I can't really recommend it. You could definitely do worse, but you could also do a lot better.
Rating: 5/10
Speaking of the Russian president, I was impressed by the way the film portrayed him. Usually, foreign leaders in films are very one-dimensional. President Nemerov, however, is very well developed, with clear motivations for his actions. He is not the evil madman Hollywood commonly makes foreigners (especially Russians) out to be. In fact, he is arguably a better person than the film's American president. So I commend the writers for that.
However, despite the acting and the good characters I did not really enjoy this film. Why? Because it's supposed to be suspenseful, and it's not. I know that Jack Ryan is trying to avert a major world crisis, but having him run around with a cell phone and type on computers does not generate much suspense. This is what a lot of the film, including the "climax" basically comes down to. The film is not deep enough to be a serious drama, so it needs the suspense and the action to deliver. Unfortunately, this does not happen. Although "The Sum of All Fears" does have some good qualities, it ultimately fails to deliver the basic needs of the genre, so I can't really recommend it. You could definitely do worse, but you could also do a lot better.
Rating: 5/10