Posted by Jack Ryan, or Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan as we are contractually obliged to refer to him, has been played by many a famous face. From Alec Baldwin and (the best one) Harrison Ford in the 90s to Ben Affleck and Chris Pine since the turn of the century. Since 2018, courtesy of the omnipresent Amazon, John Krasinski has been the titular spy.
After four TV series, Jack Ryan: Ghost War is Krasinski and Prime’s first feature film. Directed by Andrew Bernstein (Mad Men, Ozark), Mr Ryan is reluctantly brought back to the fold for one last job. That one last job is not as simple as the head of the CIA James Greer made it out to be, quelle surprise. Ex MI6 agent gone wrong Liam Crown (Max Beeston) wants his old rogue special ops group Starling back in action and they are unleashing all kinds of trouble until he gets his wish.
This is a B-list Mission Impossible, which trots across the globe going through bullets and bombs like they are going out of fashion. Regaling us with ok fist fights and a breathlessly boring car chase through mazey London streets. With very frequent stops at Dubai, you start to wonder if they financed this film. The by the book action is backed up by personality free characters, which despite the best efforts of Krasinski and Beeston can’t lift them above forgetful and sneering respectively. Sienna Miller is passable as the Brit spy helping out the yanks. The best here is Wendell Pierce (Bunk!), who is the strong willed head of the CIA, but even he can only do so much.
A bog standard Mission Impossible clone with passable action and one dimensional characters in glamorous locations. For once it was a blessing it went straight to streaming.
4/10
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