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Rating: 
Summary: As Good As A Godfather Marathon
Review: ...Start with Alec Baldwin as a young Jack Ryan, and Sean Connery as a Russian commander in `Hunt For Red October' in one of the greatest submarine movies since Das Boot! Then you have Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan in `Patriot Games' in a tense drama about the IRA and terrorism (such a beautiful performance by the late Richard Harris as the IRA contact). And then `A Clear and Present Danger' with Jack Ryan uncovering government conspiracies that reach to the Presidential Office. `Sum of All Fears' has Ben Affleck as the `new' Jack Ryan difusing a war scenario between Russia and the USA after a nuke is exploded in Baltimore. All these films are seat-grippers in their own right, but I have to say the Harrison Ford films are the best. Like the Connery 007 flicks, they are top notch in cinematography and screenplay writing. Ford is the only Jack Ryan I will remember with detail. Affleck was better in `Daredevil' and `Pearl Harbor' (I believe Pearl Harbor will be the highpoint in his career especially after the horrible `Gigli'...) This is a guys' set of flicks. You've seen them all on TBS (owns everthing now including `Field Of Dreams'...), BUT, this is a set of movies you want to watch one after the other with a pizza and a surround system.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed bag
Review: I was initially very excited to see four films based on works by Tom Clancy gathered into one package. I find Clancy's books to be absolutely riveting (as people have noted before, he is a one trick pony, but MAN what a trick!), and I have never seen any of these movies before. It did not turn out as I expected, so I will review each individually: Hunt for Red October (****): Definitely an excellent movie, with a strong performance by Sean Connery. The Jack Ryan of this movie is a little uninspiring, but hey, Sean Connery is the real story here. Plenty of excitement, great suspense, superb acting, so high marks all around. Sadly (or not), cutting-edge computing is not what it used to be, so the film seems terribly dated whenever some calculation is called for. Clear and Present Danger (***)
Patriot Games (***) These both qualify as good flicks, somthing you might watch late at night if there was nothing better on. The action is so-so, but the plots are okay, so it bears watching more than once. Nice filler. Harrison Ford is just right as Jack Ryan, but Ford has a deadly shortcoming in all of his movies... he mumbles. At first I thought it was just a bad dvd, when he was in "What Lies Beneath", but every movie I see him in, he mumbles. I can't ever get the darn volume right and it drives me nuts. If you like Harrison Ford or Tom Clancy, these are worth watching. Sum of All Fears (*): This made a new entry into my list of Movies That Should Not Be Watched By Anyone (joining such stinkers as "Anaconda" and, um, I'm thinking here). Leaving aside the alterations to Tom Clancy's story, which was half science thriller (building the nuclear bomb) and half psychological thriller (dealing with an irrational President as the world teeters on the brink of war) UNTIL the director turned it into some bizarre ego trip for a young incompetent guy whose relationship to the CIA is never explained. Again, leaving aside the alterations to the storyline, I was still profoundly unmoved by the characters themselves. Motivation, motivation, motivation! Character behaviors never seemed authentic, and no one acted in a realistic way. I feel like less of a human being for merely having watched this ... (I suppose you can figure out that I didn't like it) My recommendation: buy "Red October", rent "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger", give yourself a lobotomy if you've ever seen "Sum".
Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag
Review: I was initially very excited to see four films based on works by Tom Clancy gathered into one package. I find Clancy's books to be absolutely riveting (as people have noted before, he is a one trick pony, but MAN what a trick!), and I have never seen any of these movies before. It did not turn out as I expected, so I will review each individually: Hunt for Red October (****): Definitely an excellent movie, with a strong performance by Sean Connery. The Jack Ryan of this movie is a little uninspiring, but hey, Sean Connery is the real story here. Plenty of excitement, great suspense, superb acting, so high marks all around. Sadly (or not), cutting-edge computing is not what it used to be, so the film seems terribly dated whenever some calculation is called for. Clear and Present Danger (***)
Patriot Games (***) These both qualify as good flicks, somthing you might watch late at night if there was nothing better on. The action is so-so, but the plots are okay, so it bears watching more than once. Nice filler. Harrison Ford is just right as Jack Ryan, but Ford has a deadly shortcoming in all of his movies... he mumbles. At first I thought it was just a bad dvd, when he was in "What Lies Beneath", but every movie I see him in, he mumbles. I can't ever get the darn volume right and it drives me nuts. If you like Harrison Ford or Tom Clancy, these are worth watching. Sum of All Fears (*): This made a new entry into my list of Movies That Should Not Be Watched By Anyone (joining such stinkers as "Anaconda" and, um, I'm thinking here). Leaving aside the alterations to Tom Clancy's story, which was half science thriller (building the nuclear bomb) and half psychological thriller (dealing with an irrational President as the world teeters on the brink of war) UNTIL the director turned it into some bizarre ego trip for a young incompetent guy whose relationship to the CIA is never explained. Again, leaving aside the alterations to the storyline, I was still profoundly unmoved by the characters themselves. Motivation, motivation, motivation! Character behaviors never seemed authentic, and no one acted in a realistic way. I feel like less of a human being for merely having watched this ... (I suppose you can figure out that I didn't like it) My recommendation: buy "Red October", rent "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger", give yourself a lobotomy if you've ever seen "Sum".
Rating: 
Summary: A great boxed set for great movies.
Review: Movies-
The Hunt for Red October- A brand new hi-Tec Russian sub under the command of Captain Marko Ramius, at the height of the cold war is found to be heading towards the U.S Coast. The Russian and American government believes he is going to attack, only C.I.A analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) believes the truth: he is going to defect... I believe that this is the best and most well made of the four Jack Ryan films. Baldwin far surpasses Ford as Jack Ryan, who in the words of a wise friend is typecast waaaay too much. A must see along with the three other movies. -5 out of 5 stars
-Patriot Games- Jack Ryan and his family are just beginning their vacation in London, when a group of terrorists cease a member of the Royal family, almost kill him in cold blood, but Jack is able to same the Lord, and even takes out one of the terrorists. For his courageous act the kill terrorist?s brother will stop at nothing to kill him and his family.
Patriot Games is not the masterpiece The Hunt for Red October happens to be but with it interesting plot and exciting climax, it come pretty close. As I said in the first review, Ford is a bit over typecast but it barley takes away from the movie. Another exciting must-see. - 4 and a half out of five.
Clear and Present Danger- Jack Ryan has been put unwillingly into the position of head of the CIA, when the Presidents closest friend is murdered. Ties to the drug lords in Colombia are discovered and a military force is sent to Colombia to fight a secret war against them, this was unknown to Jack and soon he finds himself in the cross fire between corrupt Political leaders and gorilla war forces. This is the worst of the Jack Ryan movies I must admit. Although it was a tricky plot and great acting, it just was not as good. The action was toned down and the space between the important parts was too much. Although with it flaws it is still an excellent movie.
-4 out of 5
The Sum of All fears- A young Jack Ryan is just beginning his job as a CIA analyst, at the same time the Russian President is succeeded by a man with an unknown past. Soon the CIA starts to think that the Russian are building more nuclear bombs, but the truth is much more complicated than that: Neo-Nazi terrorists are planning to explode an atomic bomb at the Super bowl. The Newest of the Jack Ryan films still holds up against the classics, even with Ben Affleck replacing Ford as Jack Ryan. The suspense just keeps on building until it explodes...literally...- 4 and a half out of 5 Special Features-
The Hunt for Red October
-Commentary by Director John McTiernan
-Beneath The Surface- Cast and Crew interviews
-Theatrical Trailer
comments- The features on Red October
arn't in great supply, but
they are still very enjoyable.
3 out of 5
Patriot Games
-Patriot Games Up Close- Cast interviews
-Theatrical Trailer
comments- What no commentary? I hate
to say there's not much here.
2 out of 5
Clear and Present Danger
-Behind the Danger- Cast and Crew interviews
-Theatrical Trailer
comments-Ho Hum. Once again no commentary.
2 out of 5
The Sum of All Fears
-Commentary by the director and cinematographer
-Commentary by the Director and Novelist
-The making of The Sum of All Fears
-Creating Reality: The Visual Effects of The Sum of All Fear -Theatrical Trailer
comments
Finally some Commentary and making of's!
This DVD has by far the best special features
of all of the Jack Ryan Movies.
4 out of 5
Final statment: Buy it.
Overall: 4 and a half out of 5
Rating:
Summary: A great boxed set for great movies.
Review: Movies-
The Hunt for Red October- A brand new hi-Tec Russian sub under the command of Captain Marko Ramius, at the height of the cold war is found to be heading towards the U.S Coast. The Russian and American government believes he is going to attack, only C.I.A analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) believes the truth: he is going to defect... I believe that this is the best and most well made of the four Jack Ryan films. Baldwin far surpasses Ford as Jack Ryan, who in the words of a wise friend is typecast waaaay too much. A must see along with the three other movies. -5 out of 5 stars
-Patriot Games- Jack Ryan and his family are just beginning their vacation in London, when a group of terrorists cease a member of the Royal family, almost kill him in cold blood, but Jack is able to same the Lord, and even takes out one of the terrorists. For his courageous act the kill terrorist?s brother will stop at nothing to kill him and his family.
Patriot Games is not the masterpiece The Hunt for Red October happens to be but with it interesting plot and exciting climax, it come pretty close. As I said in the first review, Ford is a bit over typecast but it barley takes away from the movie. Another exciting must-see. - 4 and a half out of five.
Clear and Present Danger- Jack Ryan has been put unwillingly into the position of head of the CIA, when the Presidents closest friend is murdered. Ties to the drug lords in Colombia are discovered and a military force is sent to Colombia to fight a secret war against them, this was unknown to Jack and soon he finds himself in the cross fire between corrupt Political leaders and gorilla war forces. This is the worst of the Jack Ryan movies I must admit. Although it was a tricky plot and great acting, it just was not as good. The action was toned down and the space between the important parts was too much. Although with it flaws it is still an excellent movie.
-4 out of 5
The Sum of All fears- A young Jack Ryan is just beginning his job as a CIA analyst, at the same time the Russian President is succeeded by a man with an unknown past. Soon the CIA starts to think that the Russian are building more nuclear bombs, but the truth is much more complicated than that: Neo-Nazi terrorists are planning to explode an atomic bomb at the Super bowl. The Newest of the Jack Ryan films still holds up against the classics, even with Ben Affleck replacing Ford as Jack Ryan. The suspense just keeps on building until it explodes...literally...- 4 and a half out of 5 Special Features-
The Hunt for Red October
-Commentary by Director John McTiernan
-Beneath The Surface- Cast and Crew interviews
-Theatrical Trailer
comments- The features on Red October
arn't in great supply, but
they are still very enjoyable.
3 out of 5
Patriot Games
-Patriot Games Up Close- Cast interviews
-Theatrical Trailer
comments- What no commentary? I hate
to say there's not much here.
2 out of 5
Clear and Present Danger
-Behind the Danger- Cast and Crew interviews
-Theatrical Trailer
comments-Ho Hum. Once again no commentary.
2 out of 5
The Sum of All Fears
-Commentary by the director and cinematographer
-Commentary by the Director and Novelist
-The making of The Sum of All Fears
-Creating Reality: The Visual Effects of The Sum of All Fear -Theatrical Trailer
comments
Finally some Commentary and making of's!
This DVD has by far the best special features
of all of the Jack Ryan Movies.
4 out of 5
Final statment: Buy it.
Overall: 4 and a half out of 5
Rating: 
Summary: All but one are mindless Rambo pictures....
Review: Paramount now owened by the Viacom Company has put out one bad movie after another and have tried to pass them off as great film making which they are not. Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum Of All Fears all have bad scripts under use of better actors, and gun fire and numbing violence to pass along as cinema. Really patheic. Only The Hunt For Red October is good. That was a movie that depends more on the strength of the screenplay and the actors to move the story along and they did not need gore flying all over the place. But then again, that was made at an earlier time when Paramount was still interested in making good movies.
Rating:
Summary: Hoping for improved issues.
Review: The originals of the first 3 movies were issued as letterbox, rather than anamorphic, widescreen, and Hunt For Red October had a very poor video transfer with lots of obvious graininess. But I liked these movies and am glad to see them reissued in DTS and anamorphic video versions. Hopefully the video transfers are improved. I find Ben Afflec far less convincing than Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford playing Jack Ryan, but it's not a bad movie. Hunt stands out as the best with Sean Connery terrific as usual.
Rating:
Summary: Got guys?
Review: These movies are just testosterone paydirt! What a great set to own altogether. Fabulous movies and all in one set. This one is a "gotta have" ASAP.
Rating:
Summary: Got guys?
Review: These movies are just testosterone paydirt! What a great set to own altogether. Fabulous movies and all in one set. This one is a "gotta have" ASAP.
Rating:
Summary: Got guys?
Review: These movies are just testosterone paydirt! What a great set to own altogether. Fabulous movies and all in one set. This one is a "gotta have" ASAP.
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