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The Sum Of All Fears
2002
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell |
|---|---|
| Director | Phil Alden Robinson |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller |
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The Sum Of All Fears
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."
| Starring | Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Alan Bates, Philip Baker Hall, Ron Rifkin, Ciaran Hinds, Colm Feore, Bruce McGill, Ciarán Hinds |
|---|---|
| Director | Phil Alden Robinson |
| Studio | PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 59 mins Watch now: 2 hrs 4 mins |
| Certificate | DVD: , Watch Online: |
| Collections | 100 Top Thrillers, The Tom Clancy Collection |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English Watch Online: English |
| Dubbed | Czech |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 24 Feb 2003 Watch now: 13 Aug 2009 Production year: 2002 |
| Watch now | £2.49 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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This absorbing adaptation of a typically intricate Tom Clancy novel takes a couple of big gambles. The first is replacing Harrison Ford as CIA analyst Jack Ryan with Ben Affleck, who's 30 years younger — the story has been re-written to accommodate a less savvy, lower-ranking hero. The other is a shocking act of international terrorism that takes place around the halfway mark and transforms the film from a thinking person's thriller into a contemporary version of Sidney Lumet's doom-laden Fail-Safe. Unexpectedly, perhaps, the appealing Affleck and director Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams, Sneakers) pull it off, thanks to a superior supporting cast, that includes Morgan Freeman and James Cromwell, as well as the disturbing post-September 11th credibility of the terrorist scenario. Only Alan Bates rings a false note as the one-dimensional villain, but the intelligent twists and taut pacing ensure entertaining, albeit occasionally uncomfortable, viewing.
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Bombastic hokum that uses the destruction of Boston by nuclear bomb solely to show off the gung-ho attitude of its hero, dourly played by the uincharismatic Affleck; it never recovers from this miscalculation.
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Most helpful member's review
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18 out of 20 people found this review helpful
Do Not Miss Tom Clancy's commentary
This is a so-so spy thriller with Ben Affleck playing Jack Ryan, the character previously played by Harrison Ford. It is not really clear what the story is going to be for the first hour of the film then an event occurs out of left field and the pace really picks up. Morgan Freeman is very good.
If you have time, I really recommend listening to some or all of the hilarious commentary by Tom Clancy and the director, Phil Robinson. Tom opens his speech by complaining that the film makers ignored his book and then proceeds to point out every inaccuracy in the film, not just in respect of his book, but also in terms of what would really happen in the CIA or White House if these events occurred. The director is very good-natured and occasionally challenges cantankerous Clancy's assertions, but to no avail. A real bonus - if you do not always listen to commentaries, try this one, you might be surprised. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
filmed in the wrong order
the film is the fourth outing for jack ryan, with Ben Affleck carrying the main role following on fron Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin. It is made as a prequel and in my opinion should have been made first as prequals are a poor excuse for insufficient storylines however Tom Clancy is not capable of writing a poor story and the cast in this outing make this film the exeption. I gave it 4 stars, if this story had been made before the others i would probably have given it full marks!!!
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News and features
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Pine to play Jack Ryan
- 15 Oct 2009
Star Trek star Chris Pine is to step into Ben Affleck and Harrison Ford's shoes after signing up to play beloved movie character Jack Ryan in a new movie. Pine becomes the fourth actor to portray the Tom Clancy character on the big screen behind Ford, Affleck and Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in 1990's The Hunt For Red October. Ford played Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, while Affleck took over the role in 2002's The Sum of All Fears. Read more
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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,... -