Sum of all fears

[JunkerSeed]

Saw this today and I gotta say i was pleasantly surprised.  I didn't expect it to be more more than a time killing flick, but it was actually quite good.  Based on a Tom Clancy book, it's about some Aryan fascist terrorists getting hold of a nuke and trying to get russia and the US to destroy eachother.  Affleck plays Jack Ryan (a Clancy character previously played by Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin in Clear and Present Danger and The Hunt for Red October respectively), and he tries to stop Russia and the US from making hasty decisions at crucial times.  Of course you can't mention this movie without mentioning 9/11 (even though the novel was written and teh movie was made before it)  it definately has more impact and relevance now, but regardless of the times, it's a fine movie.  Not an action movie at all, though I thought the trailers made it out to be one.  The movie's extremely realistic in the way it presents just about everything.  This is expected of a Clancy flick because he used to be in the CIA, and he knows how things work.  The acting is pretty good, and Affleck does a good job, he's likeable, but still acts realisticly as someone who takes orders.  Morgan Freeman does about as well as he can in a role that doesn't demand much from him.  I liked the supporting cast that made up the cabinet too.  The movie did have it's flaws though.  For one thing I didn't like the score, I normally don't notice the music if it isn't very good but I really think they hammed it up a bit.  The music was really overbearing at times.  Also, it seemed that Ryan was just running around getting everything done, he came out to be this huge hero that essentially saved the world all by himself.  He found out everything necesarry to save the earth from nuclear war in a day, getting across the city and back countless times.  I think that could've been handled a lot better.  Also, the villians retty much sucked.  The mere fact that they were Neonazis was goofy enough, but they were the kind of villians that have curly moustaches and tie damsels to train tracks.  If they really wanted to make a point, they could have made the villian someone who was indeed crazy, but actually had realistic motivations for wanting these terrible things to happen.  The russian leader was handled really well though, I must say.

 

*Spoiler* I guess

 The ending was sort of tacked on too, but when you think about it for more than half a second the movie doesn't end happily at all.

 

So, all in all it was certainly worth seeing, and it's good points far outweighed the bad.  It's good at showing how quickly the world can spiral into all out nuclear war.

[Silent Bob]

I think you mentioned all the problems I had with the movie, too (that, and the fact that I'm still not sure about Affleck playing my beloved Jack Ryan). I don't really think it'd be possible to get around post-bomb Baltimore that fast, even with CIA clearence. And the ending was way too cheerful. I guess they put it in there just so the audience didn't leave depressed. Otherwise, though, it was a great movie. Don't you think that, in light of this movie, John Clark should get his own flick, now?

[JunkerSeed]

Yeah, Clark was quite the badass. See, maybe if he had more of a part in this one it'd have been at least a but more realistic than superhero ryan darting around the city, I'd see a movie about him for sure though, seems like a very cool character.

[Silent Bob]

I know a few of the books had him as the central character, so I don't see why they couldn't start making John Clark movies.