Rating: 
Summary: The game this movie plays is pretending the CIA is good!
Review: This movie has been critized for its portrayl of the IRA. I would have to say that it portrays the IRA fairly. The villians in this movie are not really the IRA, they are a ultra violent splinter group similiar to the type of organization that calls itself the "Real IRA", except that the splinter cell of Irish terrorists in this movie are even more violent than the "Real IRA" is in real life. The first time I watched this movie I was offended at how the Irish were treated but on viewing it again I realize that they were not treated unfairly. It is made clear in the film that most IRA members do not approve of the actions of the splinter cell or support them. In fact the splinter cell agents are at war with the "regular" IRA. The IRA and the splinter IRA terrorists are realistically portrayed. What is silly and unrealistic about this movie is the way the CIA and the British Intelligence services are portrayed. It is true that the IRA are not good guys, but neither are the CIA, or especially the SAS. The truth is that in real life the kind of people who are members of these types of organizations, (IRA, CIA, SAS, etc.) are all heartless killers. They have to be, that is their job. So I do not think that the way the IRA was portrayed was so different from reality but the way the CIA and the SAS was portayed borders on the cartoonish. The CIA and the SAS have both committed numerous atrocities as have the IRA. This movie should have demonstrated that the CIA is dirty. For instance see Clear and Present Danger by Clancy, that movie shows how the CIA really works. As for the British history of opression in Ireland, it is unspeakable and everyone knows it even if they do not admit it. That does not execuse some of the things the IRA has done but British atrocities should be taken into account. Anyway, on to the movie it is well done and fast paced, well directed, well acted, well written. Sean Bean is great as a the IRA terrorist. Harrison Ford is good as Jack Ryan. The music is also good. The action scenes are realistic but not violent enough, real shooting and death are much more gory. This movie was rated R, so why not run with it? The best scene in the movie was the hit on Ryan's family on the highway, the whole sequence was suspense packed. The terrorists getting stopped by the child serving as a crossing guard was a great touch. They were about to kill Ryan's wife and child when that little kid just stands in front of them with that stop sign. Even these hardened terrorists could not bring themselves to run over a bunch of innocent kids who had nothing to do with Ryan. After "Shawn Millar" shoots up Ryan's wife's car on the highway and it goes crashing into a divider and he says "They're gone" about as matter of factly as possible, really reveials what a cold blooded evil person he is. He is a great villian. When they invade Ryan's home with Night Vision googles is also a great climax, but I thought it a litte to much of a happy ending because not one person on Ryan's side gets killed. Still this movie is good and entertaining if a little to Patriotic for my tastes.
Rating: 
Summary: Ford and Noyce Make
Review: Patriot Games, the second film in the Jack Ryan series, stars Harrison Ford as Tom Clancy's central character in a tale about heroism and vengeance set against the backdrop of the Irish "troubles."Like the other film adaptations of Clancy's novels, Patriot Games takes the core of the book's plot while at the same time tweaking it to make the movie fit a certain amount of running time and "pump up" the action to attract large audiences who may or may not be too familiar with the novel. Patriot Games fiddles with the established chronology of the Jack Ryan novels by moving the timeline forward rather than backward. In the universe depicted by Tom Clancy, Patriot Games takes place before The Hunt for Red October. In that novel, there were several offhand references to the as-yet unfinished and unpublished Patriot Games (one character refers to Jack as "Sir John" early on, while later someone recalls a high-profile incident involving Ryan and some terrorists in London). Had Alec Baldwin signed on to do this film, maybe Games-as-prequel could have been done, but when Ford accepted the role of CIA analyst Ryan, his age and looks precluded this notion. As in the novel, Jack Ryan is in London on a working vacation with his wife Cathy (Ann Archer) and daughter Sally (Thora Birch). While on his way to join his family on a sightseeing walk, Ryan literally runs into an Irish armed group's ambush on Lord Howe (James Fox) and his wife as they are driving on a London street. Without hesitating, Ryan falls back on to his Marine/CIA training and foils the attack, killing two of the attackers, one of whom is uber-terrorist Sean Miller's (Sean Bean) younger brother. Although he, too, is wounded, Ryan testifies in court against Miller and sets off a chain of vendetta-upon-vendetta that will lead to Ryan's return to the CIA and a Moby Dick-like obsessive quest for revenge on Miller's part. Viewed purely on its merits as a movie, Patriot Games works well. Ford steps into the Ryan role effortlessly (ironic, since he had turned down Hunt for Red October, citing he did not want to another action movie where his character had very little interaction with his family), thus earning his reputation as "the thinking man's action hero." His scenes with the lovely Ann Archer are totally believable, and his character's motivations ("Not for honor. Not for country. For his wife and child.") gives the audience a more human and vulnerable hero to root for than Ryan's antithesis, James Bond. Samuel L. Jackson appears here early in his career as Ryan's best friend, Navy pilot Robby Jackson. Patrick Bergin oozes menace as Miller's extremist superior, and Thora Birch is charming as Sally Ryan, Jack's daughter. The screenplay by W. Peter Iliff and Donald Stewart is crisp and taut, and director Philip Noyce keeps things moving along at a brisk pace. And, to give Mace Neufeld credit, the casting of James Earl Jones as Admiral James Greer (a role he played in Hunt for Red October) did give this film some sense of continuity. As a long-time Clancy reader, though, I must say that I agree with the reviewer who said the novel's ending would have been better. Maybe less Hollywood-y, especially because it would have required Jack Ryan not to kill Sean Miller (in the novels, Miller goes to trial, is found guilty, and by the time of The Sum of All Fears he is finally executed). But what works in the literary medium doesn't always work on the silver screen, so a more exciting and definite climax was chosen instead.
Rating:
Summary: Lean and mean "Games" still works
Review: The movie that essentially kickstarted Harrison Ford's second action career, "Patriot Games" is a solid entry in the Jack Ryan series, firmly ahead of "The Sum of All Fears" and fighting tough with "Clear and Present Danger." It's a little light on the action, but high on a rich buffet of characters and intriguing plot -- Ryan witnesses and stops an IRA assassination attempt while on vacation in England and spends the rest of the movie surviving their revenge.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb political drama--Clancy's novel on the screen.
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite political thrillers. This film successfully, and even brilliantly brings Tom Clancy's novel "Patriot Games" to the screen in an effective manner that is a delight to watch. The direction and acting are excellent. The musical score is superb, and this is one of those movies in which the soundtrack almost comes to dominate one's impression of the movie. This is not to take away from a bravo performance by Harrison Ford, who effectively pulls off his Jack Ryan character. I originally had my doubts about Ford as Jack Ryan, but Ford succeeds excellently. The direction of this film is particularly good. The artistic direction, effectively combined with the haunting, wistful, musical score make this film unforgettable, and several cuts above the usual political thriller. This is a thoughtful, intelligent film but nevertheless contains plenty of fast-paced action. The plot moves smartly, but never features action just for the sake of action. This is a film that most viewers will enjoy many times.
Rating:
Summary: Playing Games
Review: In the second Jack Ryan novel by Tom Clancy to be adapted for the big screen, Patriot Games, the producers felt they needed to recast the lead role. While their choice proved to be the right one, the film still has its share of problems. While on vacation in the UK, former CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) thwarts an assasination attempt on members of the Royal Family, by a group of terrorists. He is hailed as a hero as one of the terrorists is killed, and the rest are captured, then brought to trial. As Ryan, his wife Cathy (Anne Archer), and their daughter Sally (Thora Burch), return to the states, they learn that one of the terrorists, Sean Miller (Sean Bean) has vowed revenge on them, for the death of his brother in the attack. When Miller escapes with a few cohorts, and heads for America, the game of cat and mouse is on Casting Harrison Ford as Ryan was a good decision. No one plays the every man action hero quite like him Sean Bean is really good as Miller. He brings the right anount of intensity to the role, without going over the top too much. The return of James Earl Jones as Admiral Greer was a nice touch and gives "Games" a sense of continuity with the film version of The Hunt For Red October The late great Richard Harris and Samuel L Jackson, before he really hit it big, round out the cast The direction by Philip Noyce is also quite good and the action is well orchestrated...My problem with the film is that unlike "Hunt" and the other films in the series, this one strays the most from the novel, (particularly in its final act) and for me the new ending has less of an impact. Now I know that when most books are put on screen, changes are made all the time, but with this film, I think it was a mistake to do so in a major way. I suppose it just comes down to which version you prefer The casting aside-The book is better. As part of the newly reissued "Jack Ryan" DVD collection, the only real difference between this, and the "movie only" disc from a few years ago, is a 25 minute retrospective on the film. And at least here, all of the interviews, are indeed "all new". Unlike some of those chats on the Hunt For Red October featurette. The theatrical trailer is the only other extra. A shame that there isn't an audio commentary, that would have probably helped For fans of Harrison Ford or of the Ryan character. Those that are expecting the book in film form, may want to be a bit cautious *** and a half stars
Rating:
Summary: THE GAME IS TO GET THE TRANSFER QUALITY RIGHT!
Review: "Patriot Games" has Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford)thrown back into the hopper, as a retired CIA agent, after he thwarts an assassination attempt on Royal family. The plot, cartoony at best, has heavily dated and its a real pity to see such stellar talent as James Earl Jones, James Fox and Samuel L. Jackson, wasted in cardboard cut out characterizations.
Transfer wise, we get a tired print master that is absent of the excess of shimmering, aliasing and edge enhancement that plagued the original DVD release of this movie. Though all of these characteristics are still present on this disc they are not quite as obvious.
Pixelization still is a problem, heavily presented in many of the exterior scenes, while colors are muddy, dull and undistinguished. Black levels and contrast levels are both weak. Fine detail is virtually non-existant in scenes taking place at night. The picture quality has an over all soft characteristic, riddled with film grain, scratches, chips and imperfections registered in the original camera negative. This is a dull and uninspiring presentation that Paramount ought to really be ashamed of, considering how much they had to live up to after their first disastrous transfer of this movie.
The audio is presented in both 5.1 and DTS but the tracks are virtually alike, save some minor bass enhancement in the DTS version. Voices are not presented with an ounce of natural ambiance, sounding, at times, duped (a common Hollywood practise that, done right, a listener should never notice). Here, unfortunately, you do!
EXTRAS: A comprehensive documentary on the making of the film and a theatrical trailer. Come on, Paramount. This isn't a special edition. It's your second try at a first run through and, compared to other special editions on the market, it simply does not hold up!
BOTTOM LINE: This DVD looks better than Paramount's first attempt. Almost anything would. But only marginally.
Rating:
Summary: Clancy and Ford team up...
Review: Tom Clancy's writing and Harrison Ford's acting team up for the first time in this film about CIA operative Jack Ryan. When Ryan makes a name for himself by saving a member of the British royal family from an assassination attempt, he finds himself and his family targeted by the IRA. Sounds strangely familiar to Oliver North and Abu Nidal... Anyway, the film is filled with great action sequences and interesting plot twists. A five star film.
Rating:
Summary: A viewer from occupied Northern Ireland
Review: I resent the way the IRA is portrayed in this film. They are freedom fighters against Britain's current military occupation of northern Ireland, yet they are made to look like raving lunatics in this film. The brave lads who volunteer for duty against British tyranny and discrimination of the Irish are nothing like what is in this movie. Do American films make your founding fathers (who were also called terrorist by the British) appear to be ruthless savages like Patriot Games make the Irish appear? I never the less enjoyed it due to the action scenes, and the way the director tried to give Mr. Ford that American bravado in spite of the odds being against him. A much better film regarding the Irish plight against the British with Harrison Ford in it is "The Devil's Own". Most British hate it because it shows the reason it's other main character (Brad Pitt) becomes a member of the IRA. While not portraying the IRA like this film does, it still casts them in an unfavorable light. However, it also shows a side of British ruthlessness that is typically covered up in films such as this one. Had it not portrayed us as badly as it did, I would have given it 4 out of 5 due to an exciting story line, coupled with suspense, and very good acting.
Rating:
Summary: Taking On IRA Terrorists
Review: Harrison Ford began cementing his reputation as a thinking man's action film actor by taking over the role of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan from Alec Baldwin in PATRIOT GAMES, a solid 1992 follow-up to the 1990 blockbuster THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. Under the taut direction of Australian-born Philip Noyce, PATRIOT GAMES succeeds as a solid technological thriller and a revenge play, in large part because of Ford's Everyman appearance. Ford, his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch) are about ready to wrap up their vacation in London when they come upon a terrorist attack against Lord Holmes (James Fox), a member of the Royal Family, by a more radical splinter group of the Irish Republican Army. Ford single-handedly foils the plot by killing one of the terrorists. But now that terrorist's brother (Sean Bean) and his surviving comrades (Patrick Bergin, Polly Walker) have plans for Ford and his family on the other side of the Atlantic. When Bean and an associate attempt to kill Archer and Birch on a Maryland highway, an attempt that almost works, Ford, who had been retired from the CIA, suddenly steps back into the agency fray in order to find, trap, and kill Bean. The end result is a chilling nighttime siege on Ford's isolated Maryland shore home during a storm. Though more violent than RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES at no time disintegrates into a typical action film bloodbath. It is held together by Ford's brilliant acting, Archer's fine role as his wife, and the return of James Earl Jones as Ford's boss and mentor. The late, great Richard Harris also does well in his brief cameo role as the IRA's chief American bagman Paddy O'Neill. The brilliant score by James Horner utilizes elements of Irish folk music throughout. Like RED OCTOBER, and the next Jack Ryan film CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, PATRIOT GAMES is intelligent action film-making, the way it should be.
Rating:
Summary: A fine movie, unusually well-directed and well-acted.
Review: This is an outstanding movie starring Harrison Ford, a movie adaptation of the Tom Clancy book "Patriot Games." The movie deals with a clash between Jack Ryan (Ford) and terrorists from the "ULA," which is a more radical offshoot of the IRA. This is an unusually good movie, and in my opinion it is one of those rare movies that is much better than the novel from which it derives. The director did an outstanding job with this movie and the film successfully captures the motivations as well as the ultimate futility and wantoness of terrorism. Excellent performances by Ford and the supporting cast. This is one of those movies where a superb musical score tremendously improves the storyline--the musical score is wonderful in its own right, and the CD is highly recommended. This is probably the best "Jack Ryan" movie, in my opinion, even nosing out "Red October" and "Clear and Present Danger."
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