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Adapted from a 1991 Tom Clancy bestseller of the same title, the film recalls the surprise attack
of Syria and Egypt against Israel. An Israeli jet with a nuclear bomb takes off and crashes in Syria. Twenty-nine years later, a bomb is found and sold at the black market. In
the meantime, three Russian scientists are under pressure from some nameless powers to build a nuclear bomb. Soon a bomb is detonated on a crowded stadium in Baltimore, USA.
Dr. Jack Ryan, CIA Deputy Director (Ben Affleck) gets confidential information about that detonation before it happens and contacts CIA Director William Cabot (Morgan Freeman)
who hassles U.S. President Fowler (James Cromwell) out of danger. The President is saved but he is confronted with the specter of war. His military advisers goad him to strike
at Russia whom they suspect to be the culprit. Russia denies any involvement but the unbelieving US advisers gird the country for war. The Russians afraid of retaliation
activate their war machine. As the President agonizes whether to strike or not, Ryan has crucial information that can help the President make a good decision. However, Ryan
cannot gain access to the President because of the advisers. How will the information reach the President? Can a nuclear war be averted?
Dr. Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy's favorite hero in a succession of his novels, has been portrayed successfully by
Alec Baldwin ("Hunt for Red October") and Harrison Ford ("Clear and Present Danger" and "Patriot Games"). When Academy Award winner Ben Affleck brings Jack Ryan to life in
this film, he has a difficult act to follow but he acquits himself creditably. As the quiet, charming and articulate intellectual with nothing flamboyant about him, Ryan does
not strike anyone as the decisive CIA secret agent and efficient information analyst. Though he has the physical build, he is no action star. He delivers by underacting. The
rest of the cast especially the agonizing President Fowler deserve mention. Though there are some holes in the plot, the film is gripping and riveting as suspense escalates to
a climax. The mood is enhanced by a score which includes not only lyrical melodies and an operatic aria but also music appropriate to places like oriental folkloric tunes in
the Middle East. The locations are varied and the photography, as well as the skillful use of muted shades captures the essence of every place.
The movie depicts realistically how misunderstanding and lack of communication can bring the
world to the brink of war. A third party engineers the near clash of the U.S. and Russia. In the grip of suspicion and great fear that becomes almost a paranoia, even
intelligent men like advisers and leaders faced with a crisis, lose their ability to reason objectively and can make decisions with catastrophic effects. As the movie shows,
it takes only one man like Jack Ryan who can think calmly and who is determined to communicate, to bring about understanding and peace. Another point shown by the movie is the
difficulty of access to leaders. Leaders are isolated by a cordon sanitaire who may not always give the best advice. The film also gives us a terrifying scenario of what can happen when weapons of mass destruction fall into the hands of the unscrupulous or the power-hungry. Most of all, this picture makes us realize how fragile peace is. What can we do to keep it?
(Date reviewed: June 21, 2002)
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