My Movie Review on The Sum of All Fears (Plus, a Bonus) · 3:53am Apr 8th, 2022
Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for my 2nd review on an installment of the Jack Ryan franchise, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "The Sum of All Fears".
Here's the rundown of it:
Jack Ryan is a young CIA analyst whose life has been relatively slow. In fact, the only new thing that's happened in his life is that he's been making a romantic connection with a nurse named Cathy Mueller.
However, Ryan gets his big break when he's invited by CIA director William 'Bill' Cabot to accompany him to Moscow, the reason being to meet the new President of the Russian Federation: Alexander Nemerov. Because of Nemerov's strong military background and support, the majority of the U.S. officials have felt incredibly suspicious of him. All except for Jack Ryan, because he believes Nemerov to be a reformer who merely acts like a hardliner.
With tensions between America and Russia on the rise, a Neo-fascist group decides to organize a nuclear attack in order to make the two countries go to war.
But, will the fascists actually succeed in their scheme?
In the wake of completing my analysis of "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit", I knew that I wanted to analyze "The Sum of All Fears" next based on it also starring a younger Jack Ryan. Other than that, "The Sum of All Fears" is so far the only other Jack Ryan film to be made in the 21st century, which made choosing it next all-the-more tantalizing.
After reacquainting myself with the film weeks ago, I'd like to point out that, similar to Shadow Recruit, the only thing I wasn't a fan of was the cussing the film had. President J. Robert Fowler in particular had quite a potty mouth after the nuclear explosion in Baltimore, which made many moments with him kinda cringy.
Outside of this nitpick, though, I'm happy to say that "The Sum of All Fears" was an absolute delight to watch.
For instance, the direction by Phil Alden Robinson and the screenplay by Paul Attanasio and Daniel Pyne, were deeply well-done.
Despite having not read the book of the same name yet, I did do some research and out out how much the film deviates from its source material. For people who haven't read the books, this movie is one that I have a feeling they'd enjoy as an action-mystery-thriller. For diehard fans of Tom Clancy's books, though...I believe that it'd be better to look at the film as its own thing regardless of the title.
When it came to being a thriller that delves into political struggles between two countries, Robinson and the screenwriters did a terrific job making it so. There were also many witty moments that lightened the mood a bit, and the dramatic & emotional resonance of the film was powerful beyond compare. Plus, the filmmakers incorporated a vast sense of unpredictability, and the overall plot got me hooked with intrigue.
The acting, characters, and character development were brilliant as well.
The filmmakers did a wonderful job at ensuring the characters had great personality, and the performers portrayed their parts like pros and managed to successfully make them be as human as possible. Each of the characters were also distinct in the best way, and they had dynamic developments throughout the movie.
If I had to pick what my favorite performers and cast members were, it'd be Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan, Morgan Freeman as William 'Bill' Cabot, James Cromwell as President Fowler, Ciaran Hinds as Alexander Nemerov, and Liev Schreiber as John Clark. It was their characters in particular who stood out to me the most, especially in terms of having a strong presence and being three-dimensional.
In conclusion, "The Sum of All Fears" isn't an entirely flawless motion picture. But, it's still worthwhile thanks to powerful performances, enrapturing characters, and thought-provoking filmmaking.
So, I rate "The Sum of All Fears" 4½ out of 5 stars.
Before I conclude this post, I'd like to share with you guys another paint-by-number I completed a while back:
This velociraptor painting was a little something I worked on from March 3rd to March 26th, 2022.
So, what do you guys think? Of this review? And my painting?
I'll have to look into this movie personally before making an assessment of it.
Also, quite a gorgeous painting.