Customer Reviews

The Sum of All Fears [VHS]

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(76)
3 star:		(64)
2 star:		(57)
1 star:		(62)

 

 

I'm a hard-core Tom Clancy fan and was surprised to see how much this latest film adaptation wandered from the book, but it was still very entertaining. The latest incarnation of Jack Ryan is very young and inexperienced. The film seems to pretend the other Jack Ryan adventures haven't happened. Jack is new with the CIA and doesn't know the ropes the way he does in the book. He isn't even married yet. Morgan Freeman is wonderful as his boss (no surprise there) and the relationship between them is the best part of the film.

I'm no expert, but there seemed to be some technical flaws which required that the viewer suspend their skepticism. (Would cell phones continue to work when your local area has been hit by a nuke?) Still a worthy addition to the series. Clancy's readers will have to be especially open-minded though.

Deeply compromised adaptation of the Tom Clancy potboiler. Director Phil Alden Robinson and his cadre of screenwriters tippy-toe around, about, but never directly on, the subject of mass murder by terrorists. The immediate point of comparison to 9/11 in this film would be the small nuclear bomb that presumably obliterates the city of Baltimore, MD. I say "presumably" because we're of course not permitted to see the results of the devastation: Robinson & Co., by the use of very heavy editing, attempt to spare us from associating their fictional event to the real event that occurred a year ago. (Well, some windows are blown out, and a small, rather pretty computer-animated mushroom cloud is perceived for a split-second, indicating the city may not be completely wiped-out, after all.) Indeed, by film's end, it's as if the blast never occurred: in the last scene, Ben Affleck and his pretty wife are having lunch in the park. The End. One wonders why the film studio simply didn't scrap this whole project and eat the loss, if they were so fearful of the movie's subject-matter. Why go to the trouble of making a movie about a catastrophic event if you're not even going to play that event for dramatic value? Of course, the supreme irony is that the fearful filmmakers, who shot this movie before 9/11, changed the Muslim villains of Clancy's story to a cabal of Neo-Nazis, in order to avoid accusations of insensitivity from the Arab-American community. (If what I've heard is true. I've never read the book, myself. If the book doesn't feature Arab terrorists, I stand humbly corrected.) I give *The Sum of All Fears* a 2nd star primarily for the excellent supporting actors (Morgan Freeman, a delightfully smooth Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Philip Baker Hall, et al.), and for the overall professionalism of the direction . . . by which I mean that even if the story is implausible, the action sequences are not. However, Ben Affleck, filling the shoes of Harrison Ford as CIA agent Jack Ryan, is a massive liability. Not only is he a skunk at a garden party, in terms of comparison with the rest of the cast, but he makes one appreciate just how good his predecessor in the role really was.

I've read Clancy (but not this one) and I've seen all the "Clancy" movies many times. My wife drives me nuts by saying, "that wouldn't happen..." so I understand all you who try to analyze the plot for theoretical accuracy. But.... this is a work of entertainment based on fictional accounts of political conflict. Did it entertain? Absolutely. Did Affleck portray Jack Ryan the way Clancy wrote him? Of course. Are the plot points of the movie plausible? Well, maybe, but - that's the point of Clancy. In case you didn't notice, Tom Clancy was executive producer of this film so he certainly had considerable input. Yeah, they changed the chronology of Jack Ryan. Whooppee! That makes Debt of Honor and Executive Orders completely future potential for Ben Affleck as Ryan considering they can now do Cardinal of the Kremlin which they couldn't have done with Harrison Ford. Hmmmm, do we want to see more Clancy movies? Yes!

I have written a lenghthy review of this film @ IMDB.com which contains comparisons between the book and the movie. I will not repeat that review here. I don't want to put spoilers about the film in this review because I tried that before and Amazon.com would not post my review. So as not to violate the Amazon.com policy regarding spoilers. I will review the book and then comment on the movie.

THE SUM OF ALL FEARS is a critical book in the Jack Ryan time line. In the book Jack is the Deputy Director of Intelligence and holds one of the highest positons in the CIA. The book then plots the middle eastern terrorists plans. It also goes into great depth to show the relationship between Jack, the President and the Presidents national security advisor. Agent Spinnaker the Russian spy helps to add to conflict as he feeds the CIA false data that will hopefully result in his becoming Russias new leader. Most importantly Jack forms an alliance with the Vice President Darling that will lead to Jack becoming Vice President after Darling becomes President in DEBT OF HONOR (DOH). After that Jack becomes President in EXECUTIVE ORDERS (EO).

Next to THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER this is my favorite Clancy novel. This story has it all. It shows what a truely gifted writer Clancy is but then we come to the movie version of the book. I don't know how Clancy could support this baztardization of his book. Except for a nuclear weapon going off in the U.S. there are almost no other similarities between the book and the movie. And because Ben Affleck has assumed the role of Jack Ryan it is almost impossible to Make DOH or EO. In order to be President or Vice President the individual must be over 35 years old. Ben who was in his late 20's when this was made has a way to go yet.

I understand that people who have not read the book may think that this film is okay but that is not who buys the majority of the tickets for the film. It is the fans of Clancy and the novel that buy the tickets. This movie had a built in fan base and Clancy along with the producers for this movie betrayed that base. I will never understand why Hollywood continues to make movies based on the popularity of a book and then changes the movie so drastically that it no longer adheres to the book itself. While movies such as TSOAF may generate some inital dollars it will not stand the test of time. Movies such as THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION which remained faithful to the books from which they were taken will stand the test of time and continue to generate dollars for the author and the producers. If this DVD has a commentary track on it I would like to hear the excuses they come up with for all the changes to the storyline.

Lastly, if you saw the trailer for this movie you saw the best parts of the film. There are very few noteworthy special effects. The nuclear detonation in THE PEACEMAKERS was better than the detonation in this film. The brief scene of Russian fighter attacking a U.S. aircraft carrier only lasted as long the same scene in the trailer. What the viewer is treated to is too much of is Jack (Ben Aflleck) Ryan's dumbfounded expressions as he wanders from scene to scene.

. . .actually approved of what was done to his outstanding book. The changing of the "bad guys" from Islamic extremists to Neo-Nazis was unbelievable, and detracted from the message of the story to such a degree as to make the film, in the mind of this reviewer, not worth much at all.

Call me a purist, but I really dislike this sort of revisionism.

Read the book; give the movie a miss.

I watched this the other night, and can't believe how politically correct it is. The bad guys are Austrians, Isrealis, and, indirectly, the U.S. military-industrial complex. I wonder what Tom Clancy thinks about that. Muslims are just innocent bystanders, and the liberals save the day, because war is all just a misunderstanding, or is caused by European nazis. This movie is shameless political correctness. The film is actually excellent, but I give it only two stars for the tired leftwing cliches. If they had filmed it based on Clancy's novel, it would have been great. I think Hollywood just copped out and got scared of portraying the Muslims as "the enemy", and so did what they always do: just turn the bad guys into white nazis. South Africans are no longer available, so they went to the "default": Austrians (guys, World War II is over).



The challenge facing any screenwriter attempting to adapt a Clancy novel is what to cut from the massive tome to fit the two-hour film run-time limit that theater owners so desperately covet.

For instance, the huge scope of "Red October" was cut to the bone, but just deftly enough to be a decent film. The plots of the other two (Clancy books made into films) actually lent themselves well to film adaptation.

Also, in light of 9/11, a case could be made that "Sum" is Clancy's most terrifying and realistic novel, so great care should have been exercised in bringing this to the screen.

The cinematic result, however, is so hackneyed, so utterly ludicrous, that what was supposed to be high drama and suspense delivers nothing to the devoted Clancy fan but utter disappointment.

The film's first problem is the casting of Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan. Clancy's Jack Ryan is a CIA analyst, an intellectual who is always forced into reluctant action by circumstance.

Affleck's portrayal of Ryan is nothing but the same wide-eyed, slack-jawed, one-note performance that he has phoned-in on every film he's ever done. Wherever he delivers any line concerning analysis of data, people or scenarios, Affleck is totally unbelievable as Ryan.

At least Alec Baldwin, and especially Harrison Ford, correctly nailed the nuances of Ryan's character. But those guys are actors WITH chops, something Affleck is totally devoid of, and boy, is it obvious and ugly to watch.

The second problem is the concession (to the Islamic community in this country) that the producers made of shifting the book's main protagonists from Islamic terrorists to Neo-Nazis. In one scene, the Nazi Big Cheese (the always wonderful, but here, totally wasted Alan Bates) reflects that Hitler was stupid for taking on the Russians and Americans instead of getting them to destroy each other. He plans to do just this by detonating a nuclear bomb on U.S. soil, and an associated rogue military act, to goad the two countries to full nuclear war and then rule the world afterward.

In the book, the full-scale nuclear exchange scenario was not the design of the Islamic protagonist, but rather a horrifying extension of external circumstance surrounding the detonation of a terrorist's single atomic bomb. The film's revised premise is a terrible compromise that just makes no sense whatsoever: There wouldn't be much left to take over after a full nuke exchange between the U.S. and Russia.

The film's biggest problem, however, is the script, which heaps contrivance upon contrivance, going from bad to worse as the film progresses.

Examples: There is a jarring instant geographical shift of Ryan from the U.S. to a covert mission deep inside Russia with no explanation of how he got there; Ryan in downtown post-nuclear explosion Baltimore, clad in nothing but a sweater, with no apparent radiation/fallout after-effects; Ryan using the crashed helicopter radio that still functions after being EMP'd by the nuclear detonation (didn't the screenwriters do ANY research on the subject at all, or at least watch a "Broken Arrow" DVD?); Ryan utilizing his mentor's PDA (also exposed to the EMP but also still miraculously functioning) to communicate with the CIA's deepest mole inside the Kremlin (anybody at the CIA have a security problem with one of their own having a direct communication link to their highest level Russian source???!!!).

And here's one for you: Ryan is running thru post-blast downtown Baltimore because he's chasing the bad guys who installed the bomb: Why would those guys still be in Baltimore? To hang out and roast radioactive weenies? No, it's because the screenwriters needed to set up a ridiculous fight scene with the personal bodyguard of the Nazi Big Cheese, who A.) had never been shown in the U.S. prior to this scene, and more importantly B.), WHY WOULD HE BE THERE WHEN HE KNOWS THE BOMB IS GOING TO DETONATE??!!

And just when you think it's over, just when you thought it couldn't get any more ludicrous, the final scene is so silly that the writers should be locked up and never allowed near a Powerbook ever again.

The wonderful supporting cast are the only redeeming thing this vapid clunker has to offer (once again, the magnificent Morgan Freeman rises above terrible material).

Clancy himself is listed as exec producer of this croaker. Maybe not having enough cash to buy the Minnesota Vikings a few years ago was such a blow to his ego that he's willing to compromise the book he fashioned with such wondrous detail and imagination, just for the almighty buck.

Geez, Tom, your fans, and especially Jack Ryan, deserve a WHOLE lot better.

From seeing the Sum of All Fears it looks like Clancy needs to excercize more conrol over his books being released as movies. The director & writers did a simply horrible job. First, the movie is nearly completely sanatized of any Islamic terrorist themes which were in the book. The director obviously went way overboard in trying to make everything so P.C.that any reader of the book will see the movie as boring and lame, not to mention virtually unrecognizable. Also, the native Indian radical is written out of the movie as are the East German scientists & a great ending with peace in the Middle East. Nearly all of the Arabic characters are also written out of the movie too. If is by FAR the worst adaption of any Clancy book to movies.

The movie also confuses Jack Ryan fans by making him unmaried, his CIA co-workers look like a bunch of high school kids at lunch break & the acting is fairly poorly done except for the guy playing the Russian president. The going back to the past just does not work & the flick is a failure. Don't waste your time or money on it. Go see the Search for Red October or Clear and Present Danger instead.

So there I am on the couch, the DVD is loaded, the snacks are within reach, the opening credits are playing, and then... one of the worst movies I have ever seen spins out before me!

I have been a Clancy fan since the beginning. I have read every book, seen every movie, and I will willingly admit that I have often been a bit soft when reviewing Tom Clancy's work because I genuinely like the guy's stories and what he has to say in them. I actually LOVED this book, so when I saw that Clancy himself was the executive producer of the film I thought great, he'll make it true to form. I was so wrong.

Instead of angry militant middle-eastern fanatics discovering the means to construct a nuclear bomb (very scary and believable), he/they changed it to a secret international "society" of neo-Nazis (not very believable) constructing a bomb to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia. In the book, the motives of the bad guys were clear. In the movie we barely are aware of who the bad guys really are. In the book, the bad guys own stupidity leads to a nuclear device which doesn't properly function, in the movie we see a full-blown, successful nuclear detonation. And speaking of said detonation, anybody over the age of 25 who remembers the cold war can only wonder why the movie never mentions radiation fallout from a bomb that detonated in a packed football stadium less than an hour from Washington D.C. The closing scene shows Ben Affleck's character lounging on the grass within sight of the White House, presumably only a short time after the nuclear explosion!?!?

Speaking of Ben Affleck, I really like the guy and most of the roles he has played but he is monumentally unconvincing as Jack Ryan. He doesn't come across as a guy with a PhD, he doesn't come across as a former Marine Officer, he doesn't come across as a man who is growing comfortably rich from his years working the stock market prior to joining the CIA. In fact, they should have cast a man 10 years older than Affleck for this role, but I guess they figured it was worth changing the story and characters just to get a sure-sell name into the film. How disgusting...

I remember thinking when I read The Sum of All Fears that it was a monstrously long book, but all those pages were necessary to tell the story properly. This film suffers from the usual Hollywood dilemma: make it good, or make it short enough to hold the short attention span of most viewers. Unfortunately, they made the ill-fated choice to cut out crucial parts of the story, which eventually leaves those who had read the book disgusted and those who never read the book simply confused by the resulting disjointed, sloppy plotline.

Don't buy this film and don't waste your time watching this film.

Evidently some of us take our Clancy straight. While this movie isn't bad in it's own light, it's such a complete departure from the book, it loses all connection for those of us who know and are friends of Clancy's many characters. Altering the Middle east attackers to Neo-Nazis completely changes the tone of the movie as well as throwing a bone to the PC element. Changing Ryan to a young punk - new to the organization and untried - also significantly changes the complexion of the movie, and not for the better. The character playing John Clark should be put in the penalty box for the next couple of years - his portrayal of Clark and Clark's method simply doesn't work and is a betrayal to the character Clancy created.

Simply put, this movie had so little to do with the EXCELLENT story written by Clancy, it seems unfair to advertise it as the same story.

For all that, Afleck did a good job (though Harrison is a HARD act to follow.) As always, Cromwell played his role with style and grace, I've yet to see him in any role where he did not excel.