I do adore a Jack Ryan movie (usually).

I love the way this film opens with talking about Russia (it’s 1992!!) – especially given The Hunt for the Red October – and then… BAIT AND SWITCH!

OK, this is going to focus on Sean Bean, I swear.

• I have no idea whether his Irish accent sounds real to the Irish ear, but it’s convincing enough to me.
• THE HAIR.
• Oops, Jack killed Sean’s younger brother. That’s not going to end well.
  • How convenient that his character’s name is also Sean (Miller).
• He’s so young! (Huh; he’s 32 in this film, so… yeh ok, I’m old).
• Bean does angry very well.
• They didn’t make him cut his hair in jail? What sort of establishment is this??
• The blue and yellow jumpsuit does nothing good for Bean’s complexion.
  • Although my, he is awfully skinny.
• He also does Terrifyingly Feral very well.
• [Eee, James Earl Jones!]
• He finally gets a haircut on the ship… I think it’s an improvement.
  • It’s definitely an improvement. Little bit of a crewcut along the bottom of the head – not an undercut, far more military than that.
• [Eek, Samuel L Jackson! Had completely forgotten he was in this film. Also so young… about 43 years old…]
• Bean doesn’t really exhibit much range in this film: he’s angry, or upset, or frustrated, or… yeh that’s about all, actually.
• Movies just don’t do those fades between cut-scenes in the same way any more. More’s the shame.
• Yikes, disaffected IRA training in the desert… with vaguely Arabic types… oh, early 1990s, you were such a time.
• The conclusion feels rather cliched today – the royal at Jack’s house (as if), the navy buddy is there as well, the lights go out and the baddies make use of night vision (in the middle of a lightning storm, really?)… but I really like the speed boat chase: it may not look particularly realistic, but it is still pretty awesome. Also, over a lot faster than similar denouements in other, later, films.
• Bean’s death, impaled on a boat implement of some sort, is vicious.

Bean Verdict: Unquestionably A Bad Guy (slightly ameliorated by the dead brother aspect, but he was already involved in violence before that).

Movies: 1. Beans dead: 1.