The Sum of All Fears

Rating:
Summary: Laughable
Review: This movie is ridiculous beyond description. First of all, it dramatically altered the plot of the book it is based on purely for the sake of political correctness, and came out with an absurd plot which is laughable to anyone with even a basic interest in geopolitics (Lets see, everyone hates nazis, make them try to take over the world and people will love it, right?). Hmmm, where to continue...NATO peacekeepers in Chechnya?!? Umm, THAT WOULD BE AN INVASION OF SOVREIGN RUSSIAN TERRITORY, AND AN ACT OF WAR!!!!

The President's staff in the movie actually agrees that the Russians would "call it a day" if we launched a massive nuclear strike against Russia, crippling the Russian military, and undoubtedly killing millions of people, leaving them with only several hundred nuclear weapons. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? They would hit back with everything they had!!!

It is also absurd that the government would immediately assume that the Russian government would be behind what is obviously a terrorist act, and respond within a matter of hours.

Worst and most unbelievably of all, Ben Affleck, supposedly a CIA agent with 14 months of experience, convinces both Russia and the U.S. to back down from a de facto state of war because of a "hunch." HA.

Now just for some little points the die-hards like myself would notice:

Hmmm, an American spy ordering two Ukrainian guards to voluntarily disarm themselves when they both could easily kill him?

The idea that a U.S. Navy carrier battle group equipped with beyond cutting edge radar systems would not be able to pick up a flight of Backfire Bombers on full afterburner, but vintage-70's russian radar could pick up U.S. stealth bombers which are INVISIBLE TO RADAR!!!! (By the way, our B-2's would fly over the north pole, not over Poland.)

Furthermore, I feel that this movie could [upset] some of the Russians who may happen to see it. This is something that I think should be considered at a time when the Russian President is bending over backwards to build a new reltaionship with America, and facing a considerable amount of criticism at home.

The audience was literally laughing it was so bad in the showing I saw.

So, to some it up:

Political Correctness: BAD
Awful plot: BAD
=
BAD MOVIE!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Better Than I Expected
Review: As an avid Clancy reader, I was a little disapointed to hear of some of the changes from the original novel before seeing this movie. I ended up being completely pleased with the movie, changes and all.

Liev Schriber as John Clark turned out to be much better than I thought, the only problem is that, as with Clear and Present Danger, they underuse the Clark character. Ben Affleck gives an acceptable Jack Ryan, but since this is a young Ryan, he is perfect for the role. James Cromwell and Morgan Freeman are both great. The movie basically only kept the main storyline, however it still incorporates all of the elements from Clancy's books and the result is a satisfying thriller with politics, spies and espionage, and military action. Clancy fans will likely be a little apprehensive about this movie and the changes, but anyone not familiar with the novel will certainly experience an enjoyable thriller with some real suspenseful moments.

Rating:
Summary: You Don't Know Jack
Review: Jack Ryan is back in this chronologically challenged adventure. But, like James Bond before him, Ryan cannot be held to aging, each new film dictates the age and attitude of its star. And Tom Clancy's prophetic novel THE SUM OF ALL FEARS also had to be adjusted to refit the new casting.

After an attack, CIA Analyst Jack Ryan is reluctantly thrust in front of congressional and presidential hearings, as he is the sole defender of a new Russian leader. Then, when someone nukes the SuperBowl the chess match between the two countries escalates toward World War while Ryan rushes to put blame where it belongs.

Phil Alden Robinson who brought us the wonderful FIELD OF DREAMS and the uneven SNEAKERS directed the film. Like any techno-geek, he is pumped up by portrayal of intelligence in action. That techno-cool coats the film even as far as using satellite photos to denote change of location. His is a solid entry closer in tone to RED OCTOBER. His only shortcoming is the lack of heart in the film, surprising from the creator of FIELD OF DREAMS. The only heart relationship in the film is between Ryan and his mentor played by the marvelous Morgan Freeman, but he doesn't last out the film. The actual nuclear attack is an impressive vehicle in the film. It is presented in a different approach then the mass destruction of Armageddon, Deep Impact, Independence Day or The Day After.

Ben Affleck is the youthful Ryan in this film, portraying a younger, more inexperienced agent. We see the budding of his relationship with Catherine who will later (in earlier films) be his wife. Alec Baldwin first created the screen role of the reluctant CIA analyst in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. That Cold War relic was a tense thriller that blew you out of the water- literally. He did an excellent job and allowed for supporting characters to carry the pace; he and the audience came along for the ride. Then when Baldwin hit the boards of Broadway, Harrison Ford took over the role in PATRIOT GAMES. This was a more intimate film as a terrorist faction has their sites set on Ryan's immediate family. The much older Ford comfortably manipulated the role into the action hero category. Ford returned in the drug war themed CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER which pushed the political corruption buttons of the United States government. Now, with THE SUM OF ALL FEARS we are re-introduced to Jack Ryan; the only place where Affleck falls short is in the brief action hero moments of which Harrison Ford tackled so eloquently. The younger Affleck has a more lumbering presence and doesn't appear so agile.

This film has received surprising success this close to the terror attacks on the United States and although the film was mostly completed when the attacks happened, it feels very prevalent and it successfully capitalizes on it.

Rating:
Summary: There is no fear if you don't watch this
Review: The Sum of all Fears was a dud. Plain and simple. It was a tremendous failure in the careers of Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman.

There was nothing special about the camera work and the music wasn't all that great either.

And it didn't make sense! It dropped to huge cliches that you could predict even before the movie started. The filmmakers obviously weren't going for freshness here.

The explosion scene lasted for about 30 seconds. It left me wanting for more, and they never gave it to me. Very disappointing.

To sum it all up, the movie was totally off base and not done the way a good movie would be. And let me ask you this; would a cell phone work after an atomic blast? No! 1 Star --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

Rating:
Summary: The Sum Of All Fear
Review: This is a must see movie. This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat. It has a great plot,dialogue and is very realistic. Although it is similar to recent current events, it is not based on those events. This is a movie and a very good one. This displays true emotion and what can happen when we react to emotion rather than investigate for the facts. The acting is great. It also shows that one person can make a difference. There are many issues that come out in this movie. They are all addressed extremely well. If you learn anything from this movie, let it be that you can not judge all by the actions of one. If someone is not from your country, it does not necessarily make him/her your enemy. See this and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: COOL
Review: I was kinda concerned when I first realized that it was Jack Ryan during his early days in the CIA. The thing though is it is 2002 so it couldn't be a prequel. Anyway, saw the whole thing and everything worked out. It is a great movie, even if there were so many changes to make it more politically correct I suppose. Overall though, I recommend this movie to all Tom Clancy fans and movie fans alike...

Rating:
Summary: The Total Sum of All Fears
Review: This story-line of this movie is excellent. Gives us an idea of how things work in the backgrounds, but I believe its more ruthless than what we see here. Harrison Ford, Nicholas Cage, along with Morgan Freeman would have sent this movie over the edge in box office ratings. Overall, to take the movie for what it was, it certainly does play hard-ball with the emotions, and the what ifs. Entertaining, brings out the fears that we hide, and I enjoyed the film, but a bit worried.

Rating:
Summary: Morgan Freeman was Superb!
Review: Even though Ben Affleck is too young (and not smart enough) to play Jack Ryan, and even though he's made out to be a CIA rookie (rather than a seasoned espionage professional), the Sum of All Fears (the movie) is still fairly true to the book. Tom Clancy, after all, was executive producer.

The material to make the nuclear bomb still comes from an Israeli jet shot down during the 1967 war. Rogue Russian scientists still assemble the bomb. Politics and egos still bring the world to the brink of nuclear war -- from which we are saved by Jack Ryan.

And the way the weapon was smuggled into America was still remarkably easy (and a much more plausible scenario as to how we'll be attacked than via a third-world intercontinental ballistic missile). Morgan Freeman's performance (as Jack's mentor) was also superb.

Tom Clancy accurately predicted the use of an airliner as a weapon years before 9-11. Let's hope that, in the case of nuclear bombs, he isn't right as well!

Rating:
Summary: Heart-stopping suspense...
Review: Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) is a low-level CIA analyst who happens to be an expert on the very man who replaces the Russian president following his sudden and unexpected death. His expertise brings the inexperienced analyst into the confidence of William Cabot (Morgan Freeman), Director of the CIA, and into the inner circle of the President.

When three Russian nuclear scientists turn up missing, Ryan and his team find themselves working against time to not only find them, but learn what they are up to. As the pieces of the puzzle begin falling into place, Ryan discovers that a nuclear bomb has been smuggled into the United States. When the bomb is detonated, the President and his Cabinet immediately suspect the Russians and prepare for a counterattack. The Russians brace for retaliation and prepare to respond. The U.S. and Russia finds itself in a de-facto state of war. Ryan is the only person who believes the Russians had nothing to do with the bomb, but no one is willing to believe the young and inexperienced analyst.

The plot is very believable and is unfolded so logically that it is difficult to believe something like this couldn't happen. The characters are very convincing as is the response of the respective governments in the movie. If you want a movie that will leave you breathless with suspense, this is the one to see. I was on the edge of my seat almost the entire movie and more than a few times found myself so caught up in the suspense that I was almost dreading to see what was going to happen next.

Affleck and Freeman deliver amazing performances and this is sure to be a movie they'll be proud to add to their credits. If you don't see any other movie this summer, make sure you don't miss "The Sum of All Fears".

Rating:
Summary: good actors, suspensful, nice soundtrack
Review: I enjoyed this movie, I especially enjoyed the beautiful soundtrack in the beginning. Morgan Freeman looks very distinguished in the movie, and Ben affleck does ok. The only parts I wished were improved were the end scenes....I wont go any further because I don't want to spoil it, but when the bad guys are taken care of, I wished the movie spent some more time on that....:)