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Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan He returns once again for Ghost War, the first full-length film starring him John Krasinski As a famous CIA agent. The film is directed by Andrew Bernstein (who directed episodes of the TV series) and is being shown for the first time Prime Video Wednesday. If you’re familiar with the series with the four seasons that preceded it, you’re about to get more of the same. Well, sort of.
When Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan TV series first premiered, I was completely into it. Honestly, I’m a sucker for spy stories and spy thrillers, and I write about TV, so having the iconic Clancy character make the jump into episodic storytelling was a no-brainer for me to listen to. However, I did not stick to it.
Jack Ryan is most comfortable in big-budget independent action films. Just look at previous iterations of the character played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine. Well, three years after the original series ended, we’re getting a new Jack Ryan movie — except it’s not in theaters.
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John Krasinski, Sienna Miller, Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly star in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War follows Ryan, who, fresh from the espionage business, is brought back into the fray by former CIA chief James Greer (Wendell Pierce) to investigate a terrorist threat unlike any he’s faced before. Ryan soon returns on a mission with battle-tested Mike November (Michael Kelly), and must contend with MI6 officer Emma Marlowe (Sienna Miller), who becomes part of their outfit in the field.
The threat in question turns out to be a very personal one for Greer and uncovers some unknown skeletons that he may have wished had stayed in his closet. Betrayal, redemption, and plenty of violent justice appear throughout the story; To explain more would enter into spoiler territory and would be a disservice to the film, which is a solid but safe espionage endeavour.
I should point out that you don’t need to know anything about the Jack Ryan TV series to enjoy the movie. As I mentioned above, I never finished watching the original show, and Ghost War works well as a standalone story, with all the necessary narrative details introduced early on to help newcomers engage and enjoy the story.
However, the film does not reinvent the genre wheel. Honestly, there’s no need for that. In its four seasons, the television series established the dynamic of these characters and cemented Krasinski as a formidable action star. Throughout my viewing of the film, I continued to find myself impressed by his ability to differentiate between the charismatic comedy and the no-nonsense hero.
Sienna Miller, Michael Kelly and John Krasinski star in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War.
I never thought I’d see Jim from The Office wearing a semi-automatic weapon and fighting terrorists, but here we are. And it never gets old.
Admittedly, this visual could have ultimately failed in the wrong hands. But Krasinski had enough time in the character’s shoes to bring this story to life authentically. Additionally, he also had a hand in writing Ghost War, alongside screenwriter Aaron Rabin, who wrote for Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, which certainly helps.
It also helps that the chemistry between Krasinski, Pierce, and Kelly is incorporated into this project. Their camaraderie does a lot of the heavy lifting and easily invites the audience along for the ride. Miller may be a newcomer to the world of Tom Clancy, but she fits right in, and her steady energy keeps the trio on their toes. There’s a dynamic between Emma and Ryan that adds excitement to their teamwork in the field.
As for the movie’s big bad, Max Beesley plays Liam Crowne, a former teammate of Greer’s turned terrorist who makes some terrible, but predictable, choices. Keep in mind that Paisley does a solid job as the heir apparent. There’s no drinker here, but he still engages in some villainous monologue, which is a bit boring.
Moving the story to Dubai produces some interesting action scenes, with the street-level scenes expanding this film beyond the arena of a TV show. The dialogue is louder, the acting is more forceful, and there seems to be more drive to the film than I remember seeing casually.
Even though there are four seasons of television behind these characters, the film sets up new emotional stakes to make it feel engaging and fresh.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War moves the story forward satisfyingly, and although it doesn’t end with any sort of cliffhanger or post-credits sequence, there is an open ending to its conclusion that makes me wonder if this is the first entry in the new Jack Ryan film franchise. If so, perhaps the next film will hit theaters as well. One can only hope.
