... The last two books of his that I read, “The Bear and the Dragon” and “Red Rabbit” were so slow and boring they bordered on being soporific. But his back catalogue is still terrific, and many of his novels have been turned into taut, exciting movies; “The Hunt For Red October”, “Patriot Games”, ... Read review
Ben Affleck is ready for action, commanding the role of CIA agent Jack Ryan in this ... more
thrilling adventure based on the Tom Clancy bestseller.America's Cold War fears are rekindled after the President of Russia dies and is succeeded by a man with a crypti...
The old certainties of the Cold War have been swept away by the new tide of detente that ... more
has washed over the superpowers. But even if international superpower relations have changed human nature has not altered very much. The new powder keg is the Middle East where this adventure story is set.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Advantages: Taut, tense, exciting thriller Disadvantages: Suffers a little from an unscheduled change in the plot
...Clancy appears to have lost the plot these days when it comes to writing good, exciting thrillers. The last two books of his that I read, “The Bear and the Dragon” and “Red Rabbit” were so slow and boring they bordered on being soporific. But his back catalogue is still terrific, and many of his novels have been turned into taut, exciting movies; “The Hunt For Red October”, “Patriot Games”, and “Clear and Present Danger” being three of my own particular ... ...to that list. The latest Clancy novel to get the treatment from the Hollywood moguls is “The Sum of all Fears” (2002). I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and equally enjoyed the film version.
~ ~ I was going to say that the plot is relatively simple, but you can’t really say that about anything that Tom Clancy has a hand in producing. But the producers and director Phil Alden Robinson (Sneakers, 1992; Field of Dreams; 1989) have made ... more
~ ~ Author Tom Clancy appears to have lost the plot these days when it comes to writing good, exciting thrillers. The last two books of his that I read, “The Bear and the Dragon” and “Red Rabbit” were so slow and boring they bordered on being soporific. But his back catalogue is still terrific, and many of his novels have been turned into taut, exciting movies; “The Hunt For Red October”, “Patriot Games”, and “Clear and Present Danger” being three of my own particular favourites. I now have another that I can add to that list. The latest Clancy novel to get the treatment from the Hollywood moguls is “The Sum of all Fears” (2002). I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and equally enjoyed the film version.
~ ~ I was going to say that the plot is relatively simple, but you can’t really say that about anything that Tom Clancy has a hand in producing. But the producers and director Phil Alden Robinson (Sneakers, 1992; Field of Dreams; 1989) have made a good hand at making the movie relatively simple to follow. The plot is about terrorism, or more specifically about nuclear terrorism. An international group of disaffected right wing Nazis decide the time is ripe to trigger a war between the USA and Russia, hoping that they will be able to step into the political void it will create. (Some void!) They manage to get their hands on an old Israeli nuclear weapon that was lost in the desert in a plane crash during the Arab/Israeli war of the early 1970’s. A secret laboratory is set up in the Ukraine, and nuclear experts from the old Soviet Union are bribed and cajoled into making a new portable weapon using the plutonium from the old device. Their plan is to smuggle the weapon into the USA and detonate it at a Superbowl game, thus hopefully setting off a nuclear exchange between the two superpowers.
~ ~ Enter the two stars of the show, a very young Jack Ryan, played perfectly by Ben Affleck, and the superb Morgan Freeman as William Cabot, the Director of Intelligence of the CIA. Ryan has been seconded to the CIA as an analyst, following the rise to power of a relatively unknown politician, Alexander Nemerov, (Ciaran Hinds) to the post of President of Russia. America become suspicious of Nemerov when biological weapons are used against rebels in Chechnya, and they discover the existence of the base in the Ukraine that the right wing terrorists are using to produce the “suitcase” nuclear bomb. In fact, disaffected Russian generals carried out the biological attack in Chechnya, but Ryan and Cabot seem to be the only ones on the American side inclined to believe this.
~ ~ When the nuke is detonated at the Superbowl in Baltimore, killing Cabot and almost killing US President Bob Fowler, (James Cromwell) things quickly reach boiling point, until a full scale nuclear exchange (Armageddon?) seems to be almost inevitable. (Don’t worry, I haven’t given away the whole plot, as you’re told this much in the film’s trailer!) Only Jack Ryan (who survives the nuclear blast) has discovered the whole truth, and a race against time ensues to save the world from disaster.
~ ~ I thoroughly enjoyed this tense, taut thriller, despite the fact that I was initially very dubious when I discovered that the role of Jack Ryan was being taken over by Ben Affleck. Ford had almost made the role his own, in the same way as Sean Connery had become almost the definitive James Bond, and I simply couldn’t visualise the part being played successfully by any other actor. Likewise, there was no Admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones) in this movie, as Jack Ryan’s friend and mentor in the CIA, the role being taken over by Morgan Freeman as Bill Cabot. But the change of actors actually works very well, probably due to this movie being a prequel to later “Jack Ryan” movies, and can easily be watched and enjoyed even if you haven’t watched any of the other films. In fact, Affleck is the third actor to play the role of Jack Ryan, actor Alec Baldwin having played the part in the very first Clancy movie, “The Hunt For Red October”.
~ ~ A wee bit of interesting trivia for you. The plot of the book and the movie are actually different in one major area. In the original Clancy novel, the nuclear attack is planned and implemented by Arab terrorists. Originally, the film plot was the same, and the movie was due to release in cinemas about October 2001. But after the real life terrorist attacks of 9/11, it was felt that the film was “too close to the bone”, and as a consequence would suffer at the box office. So the release was delayed to allow the producers to edit out the Arabs, and replace them with right wing fascists. In my opinion, the movie suffers somewhat as a result, as an Arab terrorist attack of this magnitude is a far more believable scenario than one by an international Nazi group. The plot also scared the bejaysus out of me, as it’s actually something I have personally feared will happen for a long time now. A case of “when” and not “if”, if you get my drift.
~ ~ I purchased the DVD version of the film at HMV just before Christmas 2003 for €14.99, and it is now available at Amazon for £9.99 and at Sendit (Blackstar) for £9.97. Somewhat strangely, the VHS version is more expensive at Amazon at £13.49. If you do buy the DVD, and happen to have a home cinema sound system, (as I do) then you’re in for a real treat, as this movie really gives all your speakers a thorough workout. You can also watch a couple of documentary features by the author Tom Clancy and the director Phil Alden Robinson. Clancy is fairly interesting, especially his opening remark. “I'm Tom Clancy…I wrote the book that they ignored.”
~ ~ A good, exciting, tense, taut thriller, even if it will never be Oscar material. Highly recommended by the mad cabbie for those of you who enjoy this genre.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS. It's currently doing the rounds on Sky Movies, for those of you who have digital or cable connections. (28/6/2004)
Advantages: Nail biting stuff! James Cromwell as the President and Freeman as the head of CIA Disadvantages: Slow in places, Cop out bits, Affleck as Ryan
...be pushed back due to the sensitive nature of the film. The US could no longer be arrogant in their film making having 1 man versus terrorist type films (though it didn’t stop Arnie in the abysmal Collateral Damage!). If you watched The Peacemaker now, you would know what I mean!
The Sum of All Fears is another film based on the Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series of books. The major difference this time is Ben Affleck replacing Harrison Ford. In light ... ...that we see here. The strangest thing is it based on current times too, so anyone watching the previous 3 films can throw the Jack Ryan timeline out of the window! The reason behind the younger Ryan (apart from saying the Ford was too old for the role) was the films way of saying that the Jack Ryan in the other films was too high level within the CIA and would have been part of the problem as opposed to finding the solution to war as a rookie CIA.
...
rayliu 18.08.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Sum Of All Fears (DVD)
...in which we currently live, the plot of The Sum of All Fears will probably make a few people uncomfortable. Extreme warfare and terrorism on a grand scale seem to have become an ever present threat these days, and this movie portrays the story of one such terrorist incident.
In the 1970s an American fighter jet is shot down over the Egyptian desert and is buried beneath the sand, along with its cargo of one nuclear missile. Decades later, the missile ... ...state of diplomatic chaos by the death of the president and his apparently unstable replacement. Relations between the USA and Russia become stretched when the two powers meet and clash over the way in which the Russian government is handling the rogue state of Chezchnya. A young CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, is attached to a weapons inspection unit, headed by William Cabot (played superbly by Morgan Freeman), who is the CIA head of intelligence and the ...
LostWitness 19.03.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Sum Of All Fears (DVD)
Advantages: Solid genre piece Disadvantages: Cliches a go-go
...Maybe he doesn’t quite _shun_ the other actors in his generation but I needed a title that kinda made sense. He’s no Edward Norton, but he and Matt Damon seem to be making a push for the credulence of their careers, Damon after All The Pretty Horses (is a movie with a title like that REALLY going to make money?) and Affleck before he dons red tights and whacks people with a billy club in Daredevil. And this attempt at acting credibility, dear reader, ... ...in which we see where the now infamous bomb came from, the present day sees the Russian president being succeeded by a man distrusted by most of America’s state officials. All except Jack Ryan, who after writing a damning thesis on him meets the man in person and is convinced he is not a threat. Unfortunately, nobody will listen to this upstart and when a series of events is set in motion by international terrorists, the Russians become the prime ...
peppersinclaire 09.09.2002 (10.09.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Sum Of All Fears (DVD)
Advantages: Quality Action film without too much thinking needed. Disadvantages: The love story Aspect
...this film he takes on the role of Jack Ryan previously played by Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. Although with this film they have gone back to one of the first Tom Clancy novels to bring to live The Sum of All Fears.
The film starts in the 1970's with Egypt and Syria launching a surprise attack on Israel. While patrolling one of the planes is shot down with a nuclear bomb on board, which lands in a trench unexploded ... ...the present and the bomb is discovered by a rather dodgy looking guy digging graves in the desert who comes back at night with his father and a truck to extract the bomb so they can sell it. Meanwhile the president of Russia, being played by the Cornell from Allo Allo, dies of a heart attack. He is replaced by President Nemerov, whose main aim is to restore the glory days of the Russian Empire.
The bomb however has been obtained by the Neo-Nazi’s ...
Andy.mack 19.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Sum Of All Fears (DVD)
Advantages: Another good addition to the Jack Ryan series with amazing performances all round Disadvantages: Possibly a bit too predictable
...first saw this film in the cinema in around 2002, i wasnt massively aware of the back story of the Jack Ryan character or Tom Clancy novels. I had heard that Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin had played him in previous films but for some reason i had never got round to see Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games or Clear & Present Danger. Shocking i hear you say! But maybe it was a good thing that i watched this as a stand alone film without the in depth ... ...desperate to learn more about the character and his rise within the CIA and onward. Im not letting my (man) love of Affleck as an actor cloud my judgement but i feel he plays this role really well alongside the always perfect Morgan Freeman. Anyway, enough rambling and confessing man love (bromance), heres the review!
PLOT - Inspired by the Tom Clancy novel of the same name the film begins with a look back to the 1973 yom kippur war where an israeli ...
Capodon 24.08.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Sum Of All Fears (DVD)
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Advantages: if you like morgan freeman he stars in them all! Disadvantages: not a collection of Morgan Freemans best work
PERSONAL INTRODUCTION
As one of America's best black Holliwood actors this is a dvd collection worth having. Whilst it doesn't, I have to admit match the exceptional quality of some of his other work such as Se7en and my favourite Shawshank Redemption, it can not be held against the acting more due to script writing and screen adaptation of novels.
SUM OF ALLFEARS Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
Directed by
Phil Alden Robinson
Writing credits
Tom Clancy (novel)
Paul Attanasio (screenplay)
Plot Summary
A new President of Russia is sworn in quickly after the sudden death of the President. The past of the new president is somewhat cryptic and unknown leaving America fearing the imminence of a cold war approaching. Whilst America fears the development of nuclear weapons creating rising tensions, the CIA top ...
Advantages: Great Special Features, One of the all-time greats from Kevin Costner Disadvantages: Spoilt on R2 DVD by poor Sound Quality
it go on for hours and hours and you need to go get a couple of matches to keep your eyes open. For me Columbia Tristar have got it bang on!!
Field of Dreams, aka, Shoeless Joe. 1989, US, 106 Minutes
Stars: Kevin Costner (DragonFly, Bodyguard, For the Love of the Game & JFK).
Amy Madigan (Uncle Buck, Pollock & A Time For Dancing).
James Earl Jones (Coming to America, Clear & Present Danger, Soul Man & The Lion King, (Voice)).
Ray Liotta (Cop Land, Good Fellas, Hannibal & The Last Shot)
Burt Lancaster (Airport, GunFight at the OK Corral,
The Unforgiven, Apache & Judgement at Nuremberg).
Directed by; Phil Alden Robinson (Sneakers & Sum of allFears)
Music by; james Horner (77th Academy Awards, Troy, Windtalkers, A Beautiful Mind & The Perfect Storm).
Availiable on R1 and R2 DVD; If you have ...
Based on the novel by Tom Clancy, this is the tale of Jack Ryan, who is hired to advise the CIA when the Russian President is replaced by a virtually unknown politician...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT; TECHNICOLOR DIST. SERVICES
Commentary By Director Phil Alden Robinson And Cinematographer John Lindley, Commentary By Director Phil Alden Robinson And Novelist Tom Clancy, A Cautionary Tale, Visual Effects, Theatrical Trailer
Aspect Ratio
1.78 Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Freeman always manages to do something new....He and Affleck demonstrate a seasoned team's nimbly cutting spontaneity..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.43-4, 07/06/2002)
"...Vigorously directed....Tautly scripted....The production values are first-class..." (Hollywood Reporter, p.8-43, 28/05/2002)
"...THE SUM OF ALL FEARS could hardly be more timely or frightening....Affleck has the intelligence and athleticism to carry off the singularly unpretentious and fiercely diligent hero..." (Los Angeles Times, p.C1, 31/05/2002)
"...The first two-thirds of the film skillfully sets up its dramatic dominoes....And the glossy catalog of aircraft and missiles being primed for action makes for an impressively chilly display of hardware..." (New York Times, p.E1, 31/05/2002)
"...Solid, quality summer entertainment....Few Hollywood spy thrillers have been more handsome than this one..." (Variety, p.21-32, 27/05/2002)
DVD Description
In this high-intensity drama, based on the novel by Tom Clancy, Ben Affleck stars as Jack Ryan, the CIA agent from Clancy's THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Here, Ryan is dealing with a terrifying new problem: a nuclear weapon has fallen into the hands of foreign terrorists who are determined to create a war between Russia and the U.S. As the film begins, a South African arms dealer (Colm Feore) acquires a long-lost nuclear weapon and sells it, at great profit, to a resurgent group of fascists led by Dressler (Alan Bates), who plans to lure the U.S. and Russia into a war. Soon after, the Russian premiere dies and the relatively unknown Nemerov (Ciaran Hinds) replaces him. But U.S. president Fowler (James Cromwell) smells a rat, and calls CIA chief William Cabot (Morgan Freeman) and special agent Jack Ryan (Affleck), the junior analyst who has been researching Nemerov, into action. THE SUM OF ALL FEARS is a powerful addition to Tom Clancy's techno-thriller series. Affleck is effective, and there are notable supporting performances from Freeman, Cromwell, Feore, Hinds, Bates, and Liev Schreiber as a CIA operative. Director Phil Alden Robinson manages the action with great skill. Particularly notable are the terrifying nuclear attack and the sequence of final reckonings intercut with Puccini's beautiful aria "Nessun Dorma."
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