The Jack Ryan Movie is…ok…and Sadly, the Future.
(Spoilers for the movie and series follow)
I watched the new movie “Jack Ryan: Ghost War” the other day. I had been eagerly anticipating it, as I'm a Jack Ryan fan from way back in the 80s when I first read “The Hunt for Red October,” and I am a big fan of John Krasinski. I think Season 1 of the series featuring Wendell Pierce as a reimagined James Greer is fantastic, and I've rewatched it more times than I can remember.
Krasinski is a funny guy and good at action, but those were both tempered in season 1. By the movie, it's quip after quip in between over-the-top action scenes.
Bryan Boling
But I found myself putting off watching Jack Ryan Ghost War. I'd have time in the evening, but end up rewatching some other show rather than this movie. I couldn't figure out why. Then one day, I had time, my wife and kids were all out of town on various trips. So I turned it on. And I realized why I'd been putting it off. As long as I hadn't watched it, it was Schrödinger's cat. I wouldn't know if it was good or bad. But once I watched it, I'd know. And it turned out to be both.
The movie itself, I'm not going to spoil, but that's mostly because even just a few days after watching it, I can't really recall any details of it that would constitute spoilers. That's my first big problem with it: it's forgettable. It's the sort of movie you can turn on while you're doing something else and be fine. You don't have to pay attention.
Now that's not necessarily a deal breaker. There are lots of decent movies like that. All the Mission: Impossible movies, for example. I like all the M: I movies, but I couldn't tell you what any of them are about, thinking back. Or even distinguish one from the others. But I watch them when I don't want to think hard, or when I'm partially distracted. And they fill a need. And that's great, if that's what you're looking for.
I think the reason I'm so disappointed is that this series started with real potential. Now, season 1 certainly has some things that are hard to believe (Suleiman runs a worldwide terror organization-Jack says once, “with cells in Syria, Yemen, and France…and those are just the ones we know of”-and yet the same four guys, including Suleiman himself, carry out all the missions. It's as if Bin Laden flew planes into the WTC towers personally, and it's got some kinetic action. But that's largely contained. Ryan is an analyst who gets reluctantly pulled into operations and Greer and Matice are mainly the ones doing the action with Ryan jumping in and using the fact that he's a young, fit guy and a former combat Marine to explain how he can hold his own.
The characters have some depth. Jack suffers from PTSD from a helicopter crash that is the result of a decision he made while serving in Iraq. We see his scars, his trouble sleeping, the metronome clicking in his apartment at night (a PTSD treatment that isn't explained but is included as a nice detail without us being hit over the head with it).
Greer is a Muslim. We learn that he converted for his now ex-wife but has held on to his faith even though he doesn't always know why. Just the fact that he's Muslim in the CIA hunting terrorists is a great detail that adds complexity to the character and story. In season 2, we find out that he has a heart condition that limits his ability to engage in the same kind of high-energy action he used to.
As the seasons go on, these details disappear. We never hear of Greer's Muslim-ness or heart condition again. Ryan no longer struggles with doubt or PTSD or anything else. By the movie, he's just a typical action hero who goes from chase scene to chase scene with an AR-15 and body armor and never runs out of ammo. All while constantly cracking jokes.
Krasinski is a funny guy and good at action, but those were both tempered in season 1. By the movie, it's quip after quip in between over-the-top action scenes. Like I said, all fine, but very different from what he delivered early on. Season 1 had potential, but rather than evolve and become better, over the course of the next few seasons and the movie, it's evolved into another M: I franchise.
The movie is really good if that's what you're looking for. But that's not really what I want. Especially when I see Krasinski and Pierce in season 1 and Michael Kelly in “House of Cards” and “Fair Game” and know what these actors are capable of. I'll rewatch Season 1 many more times, probably.
Season 2 is not quite as good, but I'll probably rewatch it from time to time. The last two seasons? The movie? I doubt I will. Unless I'm in the mood to see Krasinski do some thoughtless action and quip jokes while surfing the web on my phone, work out, or clean my house.
Sadly, I think this is a comment on our society. Amazon has designed a movie to be watched by people who are too addicted to their other devices, to multitasking, to sit and watch a movie or series that requires one to pay attention and think. And I'm afraid that we're going to see more and more like that.
Those of us who want to be totally engaged, to have to think, to figure things out, who want nuance and deep characters may be a dying breed. I hope not. I hope we can expect good stuff to keep coming, but from what I see, I'm not hopeful.
Review submitted by Bryan Boling for Spybrary.
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