Patriot Games: Review By slysnide

This film was based on one of Tom Clancy's novels of the same name published in 1987. This is part two of the 'Jack Ryan Octology' of films and books by Tom Clancy. And this is the sequel to the original Jack Ryan film, "The Hunt For Red October" (1990) which starred Alec Baldwin instead of Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan.

The plot is relatively simple, which is what I really like about the film: After members of the Ulster Liberation Army fail in an attempt to assasinate the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, thanks to Jack Ryan, Sean Miller, coordinator of the assasination, vows revenge against Ryan, though not as much because of the failure, but because Jack killed Sean's younger brother, despite that it was in self-defence.

Jack Ryan testifies at the trial of Sean Miller & friends, which gets them convicted of the crime, while Jack is awarded for his efforts.

However, Sean Miller of course escapes from captivity while being transferred to Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. From there, he plays a rather dangerous game of cat & mouse with Ryan and his family, which lands Jack's daughter in the hospital, and several drivers in a frenzy on a freeway. But all of these revenge activities conducted by Sean Miller threatens the ULA's ultimate vendetta, and so, they try and get Sean to give up the chase against Jack Ryan, but of course, he refuses.

Jack meanwhile is working 'round the clock at CIA HQ in Langley, Virginia to track down Sean Miller before he causes any more damage. Jack's assisted by Lieutenant Commander Robby Jackson, and Admiral James Greer.

In one of my favorite scenes in the film, Jack Ryan goes to a bar that's known to be a hangout of ULA & IRA members, but it's 'off the record' of course. Anyhow, Jack confront's the IRA's leader Paddy O'Neil and threatens him with blackmailing his cause if he doesn't give up the location of Sean Miller and his small ULA troop. Paddy is reluctant to answer his questions, and instead slyly goes around the issues, instead trying to get Jack to focus on the 'bigger picture' and the 'green pasture' that lies at the end of their goal. It was a great scene with actors Harrison Ford (Jack Ryan) & Richard Harris (Paddy O'Neil), if not the only scenes they've ever had together.

The riveting, edge of your seat climax features Sean Miller and a few terrorists breaking into Jack Ryan's home in full nighttime regalia & nightvision which helps them score brilliant accuracy in infiltrating Jack Ryan's property and home. Jack and Robby strike back however, and the shooting in the house and climactic boat chase duel between Jack & Sean makes a great action sequence to this thriller.

Pitting Harrison Ford against Sean Bean was on-screen genius. You totally buy into the effect that's being sold here: an overly vengeful terrorist gone lunatic who doesn't even fight for what his movement believes in any longer vs. terror fighting agent that thinks him stupid, and could careless what he and his ULA friends want to do.

Perfect!!!

However, the movie was a little slow paced at times, and had few action sequences, but the ones it did have were very realistic.

The movie itself I've seen in several video clips over the years, and have only just a month ago seen the entire film. It was great, and now I want to see more from the Jack Ryan series, as well as read some of the Tom Clancy 'Jack Ryan' novels my dad has.

Actors:

1. Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan (American Graffiti/The Conversation/A New Hope/Heroes/Apocalypse Now/Hanover Street/The Frisco Kid/More American Graffiti/The Empire Strikes Back/Raiders Of The Lost Ark/Blade Runner/Return Of The Jedi/The Temple Of Doom/Witness/Working Girl/The Last Crusade/Presumed Innocent/Regarding Henry/The Fugitive/Clear And Present Danger/Sabrina/The Devil's Own/Air Force One/Six Days, Seven Nights/Random Hearts/What Lies Beneath/K-19: The Widowmaker/Hollywood Homicide/Firewall/Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull/Crossing Over/Crowley)

2. Sean Bean as Sean Miller (Winter Flight/Samson and Delilah/Caravaggio/Stormy Monday/War Requiem/How To Get Ahead In Advertising/Windprints/The Field/In The Border Country/Sharpe's Series {93-97}/Shopping/Black Beauty/Goldeneye/When Saturday Comes/Airborne/Ronin/Essex Boys/Don't Say A Word/The Fellowship Of The Ring/Tom & Thomas/The Two Towers/Equilibrium/The Return Of The King/Troy/National Treasure/The Dark/The Island/North Country/Flightplan/Silent Hill/Sharpe's Series {06}/The Hitcher/Outlaw/Far North/Sharpe's Series {08}/Ca$h/Nineteen Eighty-Three/Black Death/Last Battle Dreamer)

3. Samuel L. Jackson as Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson (Together For Days/Ragtime/Magic Sticks/Eddie Murphy Raw/School Daze/Coming To America/Do The Right Thing/Sea Of Love/A Shock To The System/Def By Temptation/Betsy's Wedding/Mo'Better Blues/ The Exorcist III/Goodfellas/The Return Of Superfly/Jungle Fever/Johnny Suede/Strictly Business/Jumpin' At The Boneyard/Juice/White Sands/Fathers & Sons/Loaded Weapon 1/Amos & Andrew/Mencace II Society/Jurassic Park/True Romance/Fresh/Hail Caeser/Pulp Fiction/The New Age/The Search For One-Eye Jimmy/Losing Isaiah/Kiss Of Death/Die Hard: With A Vengeance/Sydney/The Great White Hype/Trees Lounge/A Time To Kill/The Long Kiss Goodnight/One Eight Seven/Eve's Bayou/Jackie Brown/Sphere/Out Of Sight/The Negotiator/The Phantom Menace/Deep Blue Sea/Any Given Wednesday/Rules Of Engagement/Shaft/Unbreakable/The 51st State/The Comeback/Changing Lanes/Attack Of The Clones/The House On Turk Street/xXx/Basic/S.W.A.T./Country Of My Skull/Twisted/Kill Bill Volume 2/Coach Carter/xXx: State Of The Union/Revenge Of The Sith/The Man/Freedomland/Snakes On A Plane/Black Snake Moan/Home Of The Brave/Ressurecting The Champ/1408/Cleaner/Jumper/Iron Man/Lakeview Terrace/Soul Men/The Spirit/Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey/Unthinkable/Inglorious Basterds/Blown)

4. Richard Harris as Paddy O'Neil (Alive And Kicking/Shake Hands With The Devil/The Wreck Of The Mary Deare/A Terrible Beauty/The Long And The Short And The Tall/The Guns Of Navarone/Mutiny On The Bounty/This Sporting Life/Major Dundee/The Heroes Of Telemark/The Bible: In The Beginning/Hawaii/Caprice/Camelot/The Molly Maguires/A Man Called Horse/Cromwell/Bloomfield/Man In The Wilderness/The Deadly Trackers/99 And 44/100% Dead/Juggernaut/Echoes Of A Summer/Robin And Marian/The Return Of A Man Called Horse/The Cassandra Crossing/Gulliver's Travels/Orca/Golden Rendezvous/The Wild Geese/Ravagers/A Game For Vultures/The Last Word/Tarzan, The Ape Man/Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid/Triumphs Of A Man Called Horse/Highpoint/Martin's Day/Trapola Diabolica/Match The Knife/King Of The Wind/The Field/Unforgiven/Wrestling Ernest Hemingway/Silent Tongue/Cry, The Beloved Country/Trojan Eddie/Savage Hearts/Smilla's Sense Of Snow/This Is The Sea/Upright Affair/Sibirsky Tsiryulnik/To Walk With Lions/Grizzly Falls/Gladiator/The Pearl/My Kingdom/The Sorcerer's Stone/The Chamber Of Secrets)

5. James Earl Jones as Admiral James Greer (Dr. Strangelove/The Comedians/End Of The Road/The Great White Hope/The Man/Claudine/The River Niger/The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings/Swashbuckler/Deadly Hero/The Greatest/Exorcist II: The Heretic/The Last Remake Of Beau Geste/A Piece Of Action/The Bushido Blade/Conan The Barbarian/City Limits/Soul Man/Allan Quatermain And The Lost City Of Gold/Gardens Of Stone/My Little Girl/Matewan/Coming To America/Three Fugitives/Field Of Dreams/Best Of The Best/The Hunt For Red October/The Ambulance/Scorchers/Convicts/Sneakers/Dreamrider/Sommersby/The Sandlot/Excessive Force/The Meteor Man/Clear And Present Danger/Jefferson In Paris/Cry, The Beloved Country/A Family Thing/On The Q.T./Undercover Angel/The Annihilation Of Fish/Finder's Fee/Scary Movie 4/Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins)

The Director:

Phillip Noyce (That's Showbiz/Castor And Pollux/Backroads/Newsfront/Heatwave/Echoes Of Paradise/Dead Calm/Blind Fury/Silver/Clear And Present Danger/The Saint/The Repair Shop/The Bone Collector/Rabbit-Proof Fence/The Quiet American/Catch A Fire/Dirt Music/American Pastoral)

The Writers:

1. Tom Clancy (The Hunt For Red October/Clear And Present Danger/The Sum Of All Fears/Without Remorse)

2. W. Peter Iliff (Prayer Of The Rollerboys/Point Break/Varsity Blues/Under Susp*cion/Swing/The Take Down/Chasing The Dragon)