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 If
you had told me a year ago that terrorists were going to detonate
a nuclear bomb in the heart of a major American city, I would never
have believed it. Then again, if you had told me that terrorists were
going to slam two commercial jet airliners into the Twin Towers of
the World Trade Center, I wouldn't have believed that either.
Welcome to the post-9/11 world, where previously unthinkable acts
of horror--like the ones usually found in big Hollywood movies--are
now more realistic than we can possibly imagine. For better or worse,
that devastating sense of dread is what makes "The Sum of All Fears"--the
latest big screen adaptation in the continuing adventures of Jack
Ryan--such a gripping moviegoing experience.
Other than that, it's nothing more than a standard, run-of-the-mill
espionage thriller based on a Tom Clancy novel. Despite solid, but
unremarkable performances from Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, the
sometimes riveting, but somewhat disturbing film will most likely
leave moviegoers more shell-shocked than entertained. Who knows,
maybe that's a good thing.
A previously lost nuclear bomb has been sold on the black market
to a group of Neo-Nazi terrorists, who plan on using it to nuke
the city of Baltimore during the Super Bowl and make it look like
the Russians did it. With two of the world's biggest superpowers
holding the same diplomatic tiger by the tail, these fascists will
be able to sneak down the middle and finish off what Hitler started
decades ago. Only newly recruited CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck)
can save the day, but getting the world's most powerful leaders
to listen to him won't be easy...even with just minutes to go until
Doomsday.
After Alec Baldwin originated the part for the big screen in 1990's
"The Hunt for Red October" and Harrison Ford made it his own starting
with 1992's "Patriot Games," Jack Ryan gets a face-lift in the form
of Ben Affleck for "The Sum of All Fears." OK, so he's 30 years
younger than Ford, but by flashing back to Ryan's early years (even
though the film takes place in the present day--but never mind),
the filmmakers hope to jump-start a stalled franchise that grossed
more than $320 million in its heyday.
At its best, "The Sum of All Fears" has the kind of pulse-pounding,
nail-biting tension reminiscent of 1962's "Fail Safe" (and to a
lesser extent, 1983's "WarGames"), but otherwise, the movie lacks
focus and is literally and figuratively all over the map. That's
too bad, considering that it was directed by Phil Alden Robinson,
who's best known for 1987's angelic "Field of Dreams." Adapting
Clancy's enormous tome was no small feat, and even though certain
elements were updated to reflect the more politically correct climate
(like changing the book's Middle-Eastern terrorists to Neo-Nazi
fascists), the overall effect is still somewhat convoluted and contrived.
The film is also jam-packed to the point where Ben Affleck almost
feels like a guest star in his own movie. There's no doubt that
he gives a solid performance, but he lacks the focused, pillar-of-strength
charisma he needs to stand out from the crowd. Morgan Freeman is
commanding as always, but he still seems to be going through the
motions as the CIA director who takes Affleck under his wing. There
are some notable supporting performances--particularly from James
Cromwell as the President, Liev Schreiber as a covert CIA operative,
and Alan Rickman-lookalike Ciaran Hinds as the newly appointed Russian
President--but for the most part, none of the characters are given
any real depth.
Though it was actually filmed before 9/11, some may argue that--like
Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Collateral Damage"--the timing is way off
for a movie like "The Sum of All Fears." Then again, the timing
is right on if it makes people realize that just about anything
can happen in this crazy world. Who knows, maybe it will make people
stop and think before they do anything stupid--you know, like the
kind of stupid things that are usually found in big Hollywood movies.
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