Disappointing adaption
I understand why the script is what it is; they've modernized the Kelly/Clark character for younger audiences.
Unfortunately, they traded realism for action.
The movie achieves silly levels of unrealism in extended gunfights with inept opponents, making it more like a video game than special operations. And we've got Navy NCO's living in homes that look like they cost many times what a chief petty officer could afford. Have the filmmakers ever seen base housing?
Maybe Clancy's stuff just doesn't translate as well, post Cold War. I've found that to be the case with the later Jack Ryan movies and TV shows. They're entertaining, but they lack the depth and riveting quality of the book storylines, and frequently substitute action for intrigue.
Very much the case here.
Unfortunately, they traded realism for action.
The movie achieves silly levels of unrealism in extended gunfights with inept opponents, making it more like a video game than special operations. And we've got Navy NCO's living in homes that look like they cost many times what a chief petty officer could afford. Have the filmmakers ever seen base housing?
Maybe Clancy's stuff just doesn't translate as well, post Cold War. I've found that to be the case with the later Jack Ryan movies and TV shows. They're entertaining, but they lack the depth and riveting quality of the book storylines, and frequently substitute action for intrigue.
Very much the case here.
- rbstern
- 8 mag 2025