When the character of Jack Ryan first appeared in Tom Clancy’s 1984 best-selling novel, The Hunt for Red October, it would have been hard to predict that the fish-out-of-water C.I.A analyst would be brought to cinematic life by some of the most popular actors of the next four decades. And yet there was something incredibly appealing about the story of a plausible hero, someone who used his mind more than his muscles to make the difference that wins the fight.
A lot of the credit for Jack Ryan’s enduring appeal can be given to the quality of the first Jack Ryan movie, The Hunt for Red October, directed by John McTiernan in 1990 and starring Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan and Sean Connery as a renegade Russian submarine captain. McTeirnan, whose two previous films were the instant classics Predator and Die Hard, did a masterful job of turning a hyper-detailed story about Cold War military intelligence into a thrilling action blockbuster.
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The end of the Cold War in 1991 didn’t stop author Tom Clancy from writing many more novels that followed the unusual career of his Jack Ryan character, and three more novels featuring him were brought to the screen. Harrison Ford finished out the 1990s playing the role of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, while Ben Affleck took up the part 2002 in The Sum of All Fears. A fifth feature film, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, was the latest movie that followed the intriguing world of Jack Ryan, with Chris Pine as the title character in 2014.
The very latest Jack Ryan saga is a four-season television series produced by Prime Video titled Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, starring John Krasinski of The Office and A Quiet Place fame. Season one premiered to critical acclaim in August 2018, and season two followed in October 2019. The pandemic delayed season three, but it was finally released in December 2022, and its popularity and critical acclaim remained undiminished, despite the delay.
Capturing the Spirit of Tom Clancy’s Genius
The creators of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Graham Roland and Carlton Cuse, initially tried to make their season one story an updated version of one of Tom Clancy’s novels, but found that bringing a Jack Ryan story out of the Cold War era and into the more sophisticated 21st century was so challenging, it was better to write something completely new than try to rewrite something old. So they took aim at producing an original story that captured the spirit of the Tom Clancy novels.
It’s obvious from the very first minutes of the very first episode that Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is in good hands. This is a production team that knows and understands Tom Clancy, who was a genius at showing the real-world reasons and challenges behind political and military events. The season one story opens with that rich depth, which is the heartbeat of what makes a Jack Ryan story so special. Both die-hard Tom Clancy fans and newcomers will appreciate this version’s attention to realistic detail.
Another hallmark of any Jack Ryan story is the chess match that is constantly being played by very smart people on both sides of the board. With Dr. Jack Ryan, it starts with brainpower, putting pieces of information together to understand the motives and objectives of dangerous opponents. The stories of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan handle this well, showing viewers the important moments of strategic calculation without getting bogged down in the painstaking process of military intelligence.
Strategy leads to action, and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has plenty of that, from thrilling covert ops to full-out military engagements, sometimes pushing against the boundaries of realism but rarely breaking them. Every firefight, each raid, and the several chases are complete and convincing. Important flashbacks to Jack Ryan’s days in the Marines reveal both the duty and the guilt that drives him, as well as the military skill that allows him to step away from the desk of the C.I.A. analyst and into the field as a competent C.I.A. operative.
The Compelling Characters of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
Of course, even intense action sequences get tiring if no one cares about the characters, but that’s not a problem for Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. John Krasinski brings a wonderful blend of charm and intensity to Jack Ryan, who anchors the show like the eye of a hurricane. The supporting cast of his C.I.A. teammates are just as impressive, with the roles of an ornery and tenacious Jim Greer (played by Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame), and a silky smooth Mike November (played by Michael Kelly). And whether the numerous C.I.A. directors throughout the seasons are helpful collaborators, like Betty Gabriel’s Elizabeth Wright, or stumbling blocks like Timothy Hutton’s Nathan Singer, they arrive and finish with flair.
One-dimensional villains are few and far between in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. For the most part, the main antagonists of all three seasons are given an impressive and captivating depth, especially the charismatic Suleiman, played by Ali Suliman in season one. He is a man of passion and compassion, and struggles to put his cause above his family, but when he finally has to make those decisions, it is truly heartbreaking. Others include a Venezuelan President trapped in the clutches of his own corruption in season two, and a bitter and vengeful Russian soldier in season three.
Some of the most interesting characters are neither overtly good nor bad. Suleiman’s wife has to make difficult choices with far-reaching consequences just to protect her daughters. A German intelligence operative faces the dilemma of a partner who has become a paid assassin. The Venezuelan President’s boyhood friend tries desperately to be the voice of reason. An old-school Russian political consultant prowls the halls of the Kremlin like a bear, standing at the fulcrum of a coup and a potential world war.
Where Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Falls Short
Not everything in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has gone perfectly, however. After a very strong start in season one, the show lost its way a little in season two. The loose ends from the first season’s story became problems for the narrative of season two. Greer has to be awkwardly extracted from his new post in Moscow within the first 15 minutes of the first episode so that he can team up with Ryan again in Venezuela. And throughout the entire season, Greer struggles with his health to no apparent purpose, as if the writers themselves can’t decide whether to keep him around.
But the biggest stumbles were the times in season two when the Jack Ryan character suffered from a loss of identity. At first, he fell into the James Bond trap, becoming impossibly competent and confident, and even resorting to the cliché of sex as a tool to pursue a potential agent — or worse, being used by another agent because he couldn’t control his urges, which is very out of character for Jack Ryan.
In some of the action scenes of season two story, Jack Ryan seems to morph into John Wick at times, able to evade the shots of numerous professional soldiers while taking each one out with perfect shots from his own handgun. A background of Marine training will only go so far in a show about a C.I.A. analyst who was pulled into the field reluctantly. Fortunately, Jack Ryan came back down to earth in season three, and his many moments of action returned to a foundation of detailed realism.
The final story problem of both seasons two and three was another loose end from season one. In Tom Clancy’s novels, Jack Ryan’s wife, Cathy, was a source of strength for Jack’s character from beginning to end. Medical doctor Cathy Mueller is introduced delightfully in season one, played wonderfully by Abbie Cornish, and the chemistry is strong between Jack and Cathy as they contemplate a relationship with their chosen careers. The touch of romance gave the story some much-needed warmth and relatability, but the character of Cathy disappeared completely after season one. It was a disappointing end to a promising start.
Season 4 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Is On Its Way
The problems, however, were never major, and for eager fans of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, John Krasinski revealed that the stories for season three and season four were deliberately shot back-to-back. This not only means that the series will keep a needed consistency, but also suggests that most of the fourth season is already in the can, so it’s only a matter of time until Prime Video will release a fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.
Overall, season three was the best season yet, staying within itself and coming together at the end in a spectacular way. With the benefit of experience and the success of this season, odds are that season four will be a grand finale, building to something great. It’s not hard to predict that congratulations will be in order for the cast and production team, who have created a series that deserves to proudly bear the name of Tom Clancy in its title.
