Follows Jack Ryan who reunites with CIA operatives to navigate a treacherous web of betrayal against an enemy who knows their every move, facing a past they thought was long put to rest.
Chuck says:
There’s nothing in “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War” that you haven’t seen before. It’s standard espionage fare involving covert operations, a few clever surprises, the requisite number of car chases and gun battles, concluding with all being put right for God and country. That this is a Tom Clancy-spawned production, there’s no shortage of pro-American sentiment at play, the titular character an over-grown, if slightly disillusioned boy scout, the country’s institutions, flawed but ultimately reliable.
And yet, despite the script’s by-the-numbers nature, there’s no question veteran television director Andrew Bernstein has fashioned a competent and, at times, slick entertainment. Working from a script by series regular Aaron Rabin and Krasinski, the filmmaker brings a workman-like sensibility that results in a stripped down, briskly paced affair that’s consistently engaging and, most importantly, avoids action-movie bloat.
Though he’s entered the private sector, Ryan (Krasinski) is pulled back into service – a bit too easily – by his mentor, CIA Deputy Director James Greer (Wendell Pierce). He asks him to travel to Dubai to facilitate an exchange of information with an old colleague of his, Nigel Cooke (Douglas Hodge). With their ex-nemesis, now ally Mike November (Michael Kelly) in tow, the pair set out for what’s to be a 24-hour mission.
It comes as no surprise that things go sideways when Cooke is killed before the transfer is made. Soon, Ryan and November are taken in by MI-6 agent Emma Marlow (Sienna Miller), who reveals elements from Greer’s past that suggest he may have ulterior motives regarding this exercise. Complicating matters is Liam Crown (Max Beesley), another former associate of the deputy director’s, who is leading a black ops group intent on independently taking our terrorist organizations.
As in most spy thrillers, nothing is as it seems and no one should be taken at face value. Yet, Rabin and Krasinski use that to their advantage as they provide Greer with a back story that adds a new dimension to his character in the service of driving home the film’s theme. With the 9/11 attacks as background, the question as how to remain morally sound while fighting the morally corrupt comes into play. In order to protect a society, is it acceptable to break the laws it’s built on to save it?
What with bald-faced government corruption on display daily, this comes off as a rather quaint notion. Still, it cuts to the moral differences between Ryan and Greer, the source of much worthwhile dramatic tension over the course of the Amazon Prime series. Ryan’s morally sound beliefs come off as antiquated in the face of current political complexities, while Greer’s pragmatic action first, consequences later stance seems a bit too cut and dried to be viable. That this issue is the foundation of the film and it provides no easy answers to this dilemma helps elevate it above other genre fare.
Though I’ve often thought Krasinski’s sometimes flippant approach is wrong for the character (I just don’t see this guy becoming Harrison Ford!), he brings a world-weariness to the role here that’s effective. Miller, as always, is fully committed and believable, wielding her character’s cynicism and weapon with equal effectiveness. The always reliable Pierce brings a quiet complexity to his role, while Kelly is given the unenviable task of providing mild comic relief, which he is ill-suited for.
The film’s conclusion offers the possibility of further installments with an intriguing premise, as Ryan and Greer find themselves working side-by-side in an administrative capacity. The opportunity for further debates regarding the former’s conscientious philosophy in opposition to the latter’s more expedient approach would be welcome, especially now that such concerns have seemingly been relegated to the ash heap of outdated notions.
3 Stars
