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The first three
movies featuring the Jack Ryan character, from author
Tom Clancy, were made in the 1990s. They were well-made
espionage films that played on our fears of those nasty
Commie Russians, terrorists, and evil drug lords.
Audiences responded to the movies and made them into
respectable moneymaking hits.
"The Hunt for Red October," "Patriot Games,"
and "Clear and Present Danger" are now available on Blu-ray disc.
Clancy must have some kind of inside information on how
our government agencies work, or he's very good at
crafting stories based on his own theories of America's
enemies. Though I haven't read any of the Clancy novels,
the movies in the 1990s trilogy seem like they follow
the books fairly closely. The stories are intricate with
numerous levels of plot and character development.
Things in the Clancy film adaptations aren't always how
they seem.
THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
This is the most unusual and somewhat artistic film of
the Jack Ryan trilogy. For our purposes, we're not
including the Ben Affleck/Morgan Freeman 2002 Jack Ryan
movie, "The Sum of All Fears." The film is a study of
Sean Connery's character of Captain Marko Ramius.
Connery is excellent as Ramius, leading his crew to take
the top secret Russian sub, Red October, to the United
States.
Director John McTiernan, who made the brilliant action
films "Predator" (1987) and "Die Hard" (1988), capably
directs "Red October." The first half of the movie moves
very leisurely, mostly to set up the plot. "Predator"
and "Die Hard" also had rather slow plot development,
but kick into high gear and never slow down. "Red
October" does pick up the pace in the second half,
creating a fairly intense stand-off between the Connery
and the United States.
Alec Baldwin plays Jack Ryan in this film. He's good in
the movie, though he doesn't present himself as a strong
lead. His voice is very quiet and he's not very
commanding on the screen. I understand that his
character is supposed to rather low-key in the movie,
but if the movie was truly revolved around Baldwin's
portrayal as Ryan, the franchise probably would've
stalled. I don't recall the specifics (as of this
writing) as to why Harrison Ford replaced Baldwin in the
second Jack Ryan film. My recollection, and opinion, is
that Baldwin's star was on the rise and he demanded more
money to reprise his role, and the studio said no. Plus,
it may have been felt that Baldwin wasn't a strong
enough box office draw to continue the series with him
in the Jack Ryan role.
Connery, at least in this point in his career, could do
no wrong. He'd won an Oscar in "The Untouchables"
(1987), and played Indiana Jones' dad in "Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade" (1989). He had firmly
re-established himself as a movie star, and it shows in
"Red October." He's the centerpiece of the film and he's
in total control. Not a second of his screen time is
wasted. In a scene between he, Scott Glenn and Alec
Baldwin, one can clearly see that Connery is in command
of both his performance and of anybody else on screen.
That isn't to say that Glenn and Baldwin can't act. It's
just saying that Connery simply commands your attention
and respect when he's acting.
A lot has changed since "Red October" came out in
theaters in the spring of 1990. Director McTiernan
directed many movies since then, but most have been box
office disappointments, including "Medicine Man" (1992),
"Last Action Hero" (1993), and "Rollerball" (2002). He
went to prison for a short time for his involvement with
former private investigator, Anthony Pellicano. The
Russians are no longer America's top enemy. Alec Baldwin
has had a very busy career, but has alienated moviegoers
with his off-screen antics. He has now been a part of
NBC's "30 Rock" and seems to be enjoying a career
resurgence.
The Blu-ray is perhaps the best home video presentation
available on this film. The picture is solid with a bit
of grain that I recall was present in the theatrical
presentation. Some viewers might complain that since
this is Blu-ray that the picture should be ultra sharp
and ultra clean. I believe the Blu-ray should reflect
how the film looked and how it was shot and processed in
the lab, and this disc seems to reflect those "flaws."
The sound is excellent, though the dialogue tends to
have a "tinny" effect to it. The music and sound effects
are nicely recorded, though I still believe that Dolby
TrueHD (as good as it is) holds back the playback
quality from really shining. This isn't to say that the
presentation isn't excellent, because it is.
PATRIOT GAMES & CLEAR AND
PRESENT DANGER
The Jack Ryan series picks up the pace with "Patriot
Games" (1992) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994).
Harrison Ford was cast, and I think this was a clever
and good move. He's more than capable to play the CIA
hero and tends to command the screen better than Baldwin
did. The choice of director also changed when Phillip
Noyce ("Dead Calm") came on-board. The films had the
same touch that McTiernan had, but took them in a
different direction.
"Patriot Games" is competent entertainment, but I don't
recall being overly enthusiastic about it back in 1992.
It involves the IRA terrorist group and Ford's Jack Ryan
character trying to stop them from doing anymore harm.
Maybe it was the use of Irish music, popular in the
early-1990s with Enya on the radio (and I know "Patriot
Games" is based on the IRA). "Far and Away" was released
that same year, and it seemed that Irish music was used
in movies that weren't based on Ireland/Northern Ireland
at all. Perhaps it was the role of Anne Archer, the
devoted wife (as she was in "Fatal Attraction") that
bugged me. It seemed that she played the same role in
"Fatal Attraction." Maybe it was seeing those 1992 cell
phones today that bugged me. I'm really not sure what I
didn't like about "Patriot Games," so perhaps this isn't
a fair review of the film. I found it predictable,
though the production and acting is good. Out of the
three original Jack Ryan films, this is my least
favorite.
"Clear and Present Danger," on the other hand, is quite
a good film, and a film that could stand on its own. I
felt it was underrated in 1994. The movie has a
layered plotline, excellent acting by everyone, and
solid direction.
Ford reprises Jack Ryan and seems comfortable in the
role. Nothing to complain about there. The rest of the
cast includes Willem Dafoe, Joaquim de Almeida, Henry
Czerny, James Earl Jones, and Miguel Sandoval. They're
all good performances.
The plot places Ryan into the middle of the Drug War
with a Columbian overlord (Miguel Sandoval). Though the
film doesn't have a lot of action, it is plotted well
and I found myself engaged in what was going to happen
next. One of the strengths is the role of de Almeida,
who plays Col. Feliz Cortez. He's charming and evil at
the same time. He makes for a good villain.
The best scene in the movie, and a great home theater
demo, is a firefight in the alleys of Columbia. This is
very well done action sequence that pins Jack Ryan in
the middle of a seemingly insurmountable situation.
The picture and sound quality on both the 1992 and 1994
films is excellent. The grain is nearly gone and the
sound quality is excellent on both films, though
"Danger" seems to have a brighter sounding character to
it.
Due to time constraints, this review is shorter than
usual. If you're in the mood to see the first three Jack
Ryan films in their best home theater light, Blu-ray is
the way to go.
Bill Kallay
Special thanks to Click Communications
Photos: © Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.
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