Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War Review

Jack Ryan is drawn back into the fold when his old friend Jim Greer asks him for a favour. But when what should have been a simple exchange goes wrong in Dubai, Jack and his CIA pals are forced to work with MI6, as the ghost of black-ops past emerges from the shadows to haunt the two agencies, and Greer in particular.

The thing about Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan – the show, that is – it has a great cast, and their portrayal of these well-loved characters is a lot of fun, but the show, while entertaining, was never really what you’d call gripping. Certainly not after the first season, anyway. Unfortunately, that is also true of Ghost War, the latest feature length entry in this decades old franchise. Which, depending on your point of view, feels like either a cut down season of the show, or an extended episode.

Sure, it’s good to catch up with Jack (John Krasinski), Jim (Wendell Pierce), Mike (Michael Kelly) and Elizabeth (Betty Gabriel) – even if one of them is given far too little to do. As I said before, their portrayals are fun, making the bond they share rather enjoyable. Sienna Miller also makes a welcome addition as MI6 agent Emma Marlow. She and Krasinski’s Ryan have a playful dynamic, without turning Ghost War into something of a Bond movie. Rather refreshingly, Marlow isn’t there merely for Ryan to have someone new to bounce ideas off of either, with the newcomer quickly proving just how capable she is.

It’s too bad then that they don’t have a really interesting mission to tackle. Throughout his time on the page and screen, Ryan has always been an intellectual and a Boy Scout who thinks outside of the box. It’s what sets his adventures apart from other espionage thrillers. That and his tendency to let his excitement – and his mouth – get him in trouble. But you don’t really get any of that with Ghost War. Instead, it’s a pretty generic spy film in which western agents show up in exotic locations and make a lot of noise. The same goes for Max Beesley’s villainous ‘Liam Crown’, who spends the entire movie looking like he found a turd in his breakfast cereal, and not a whole lot else.

We’re definitely closer to Shadow Recruit than The Hunt for Red October with this one. At least this means there’s some fun action, including a fight on a speeding boat in Dubai, and a car chase through central London – one of the movie’s highlights. Ghost War also makes good use of multiple location shoots, including New York, adding some interesting perspectives on the action and the nearby landmarks. But even this can’t make up for a surprisingly flat story, and a rather one-dimensional villain. In fact, the only major impact of Greer’s past coming back to haunt him, seems to be the undoing of everything that was established by the show at the end of its last season.