Special Edition

I am quite conflicted about this the second Jack Ryan film. There is no doubt I enjoy Harrison Ford’s Ryan more than I did Alec Baldwin’s. Of course, they really are not the same character at all. With Ford, Ryan has become more of an action hero. Sadly, I didn’t find this script as compelling as the other Ryan films. It is by far the worst adaptation of a Clancy novel to date. The complicated plot ends up being reduced to a simple game of revenge for the villain. Plot contrivances abound just to place Ryan into the heat of fire. Still, even this lesser adaptation contains exceptional contributions by a fine cast. It is worth watching at least once to see the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Harris, and James Earl Jones.

Synopsis

In the 1980’s Tom Clancy was “the man”. One of the interviews on this disc accurately points out that if you were on an airplane in the 1980’s, for every ten people reading a book seven would be reading Tom Clancy. Hunt for Red October was by far his best work. The technical information was so accurate that Clancy was once questioned for several hours by the CIA to determine his source. The film, unlike many blockbuster efforts, does not disappoint. The script is relatively faithful to the book. There are major divergences, particularly the climax, but most serve to tighten the lengthy novel into a fast-paced film. Alec Baldwin, a newcomer at the time, handles the part of Jack Ryan well even in the hindsight of two Harrison Ford portrayals. Sean Connery delivers a masterful performance that goes so far as to allow us to accept a Russian with a Welsh accent.

Synopsis