Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan"

[Obliviax]

Just finished this on a flight last night. Really a great 8 episode series that ranks up there with the first few seasons of "24".

• I didn't see Krasinski in the lead but he did an great job
• All of the bad guys were awesome, as was Greer.
• Only character I didn't like was his GF, but she was OK. No Anne Archer. She is younger than Archer's character but didn't seem to pull off the class in intelligence.
• Cinematography was awesome

Of you haven't seen it, it is as good as any "binge" show I've ever seen

 

[PSU.:.]

Oh yes I hated the girlfriend. Her reaction finding he lied to her about being in CIA after one date was stupid.

 

[Madsol]

Is the TV-MA rating for violence? Language? Both?

 

[Obliviax]

Is the TV-MA rating for violence? Language? Both?

A little of both. There is some blood, but not a ton. A couple of gory scenes. There is one fairly graphic sex scene, but it only lasts about 20 seconds. Jack's boss, Greer, is a hard-nosed CIA lifer that pulls no punches. I am not sure there is a scene with him where he doesn't drop an f bomb (exaggeration, of course) but it is part of his character.

 

[cntblvitsbutter]

Up to episode 3. Not bad, but not as good as Homeland S1. It's funny though, sometimes I can suspend my disbelief but othertimes I can't. For Homeland, I didn't blink an eye when Captain Winters got into a room wearing a bomb jacket. But for Jack Ryan, I couldn't help saying to myself, "that could never happen." Like the whole rescue Salumein from the middle of the desert scene. How did his brother know where he was being held? How did he get guys who have been helping the Americans for a while help him attack the base? How was the base not locked down tight? How were the soldiers so incompetent to let a live guy inside the base? How did they not have at least a .50 cal on the wall? Why didn't they pursue or conduct a search after the attack?

 

[ewb75]

I agree Obli. I had my reservations going in, as I was a fan of Clancy's and the entire Ryan series of books (older ones much better). But was pleasantly surprised with how they developed it and the storyline in a modern period. Was also not certain with Krasinski as Ryan (as I always visualize Harrison Ford as Ryan, thanks to early movies) but he did a good job. I did not hate the girlfriend (Kathy), but did find her to be the weakest of the characters that they were developing. Would recommend it as a binge worthy show, especially on a rainy day with no football.

Madsol- there is language, violence, and some brief nudity.

 

[not so fast my friend]

Just finished this on a flight last night. Really a great 8 episode series that ranks up there with the first few seasons of "24".

• I didn't see Krasinski in the lead but he did an great job
• All of the bad guys were awesome, as was Greer.
• Only character I didn't like was his GF, but she was OK. No Anne Archer. She is younger than Archer's character but didn't seem to pull off the class in intelligence.
• Cinematography was awesome

Of you haven't seen it, it is as good as any "binge" show I've ever seen

Is it NETFLIX? TV? Other?

 

[Obliviax]

Is it NETFLIX? TV? Other?

amazon prime

 

[JoeLion]

I finished watching it last night and found it compelling and well done. I agree with others regarding the GF being the weakest character. It appears the next series will be based on Russia.

 

[UncleLar]

Just finished this on a flight last night. Really a great 8 episode series that ranks up there with the first few seasons of "24".

• I didn't see Krasinski in the lead but he did an great job
• All of the bad guys were awesome, as was Greer.
• Only character I didn't like was his GF, but she was OK. No Anne Archer. She is younger than Archer's character but didn't seem to pull off the class in intelligence.
• Cinematography was awesome

Of you haven't seen it, it is as good as any "binge" show I've ever seen

It hit Amazon Prime around midnight last Thursday night. I was up until 6 am watching 6 of the episodes, finishing it Friday afternoon. Needless to say I enjoyed it.

I might be trapped a bit tonite depending on what time Iron Fist hits Netflix. While season one sucked, rumor has it that season two is considerably better. I'd be royally surprised if they develop Danny Rand's character enough for me to binge watch much, but it wouldn't take a whole lot of Alice Eve as Typhoid Mary to keep me watching.

 

[David1956]

What did they do to the James Greer character? He becomes a muslim and there is nothing left of his Navy officer background. A PC move I did not like at all. The actor playing him was ok, but he was not left much to work with. A one dimensional angry guy with little of the wisdom and mentoring Ryan should have received.

The girlfriend blowing up about finding out Ryan was not in the State Department was downright stupid. So a State Department logistics guy gets carried away from a party by helicopter? She would have to be stupid, and Ryan's wife is not stupid. Then she gets back with him with no problem? The screenwriter should have been water boarded.

I thought that Suleiman was well written and well played. A character who we see sink into madness. Good characters are not all good or all bad. This one had motivation and history. Well done. The actor playing him was the best in the entire show.

Ryan is too much of a boy scout. They wanted to bring that out, but they went way overboard. His actions in Turkey were awful. Krasinsky (sp?) was ok. Again, he was not given much to work with by the screenwriter.

Then what was up with the terrorist character responsible for the pizza bombing. Were we supposed to think he was torn by his actions? Should we have cared how he met his fate? Another character that lacked development.

Overall production was excellent. Quality camera work and special effects. I enjoyed seeing the locations in the mid-east and France.

 

[Obliviax]

What did they do to the James Greer character? He becomes a muslim and there is nothing left of his Navy officer background. A PC move I did not like at all. The actor playing him was ok, but he was not left much to work with. A one dimensional angry guy with little of the wisdom and mentoring Ryan should have received.

The girlfriend blowing up about finding out Ryan was not in the State Department was downright stupid. So a State Department logistics guy gets carried away from a party by helicopter? She would have to be stupid, and Ryan's wife is not stupid. Then she gets back with him with no problem? The screenwriter should have been water boarded.

I thought that Suleiman was well written and well played. A character who we see sink into madness. Good characters are not all good or all bad. This one had motivation and history. Well done. The actor playing him was the best in the entire show.

Ryan is too much of a boy scout. They wanted to bring that out, but they went way overboard. His actions in Turkey were awful. Krasinsky (sp?) was ok. Again, he was not given much to work with by the screenwriter.

Then what was up with the terrorist character responsible for the pizza bombing. Were we supposed to think he was torn by his actions? Should we have cared how he met his fate? Another character that lacked development.

Overall production was excellent. Quality camera work and special effects. I enjoyed seeing the locations in the mid-east and France.

Two thoughts...Agree on Greer but I thought they made him a muslim to tell the audience that Muslim's are good, not bad....that any belief taken to the level of extremism is bad.

On the pizza bomber, the bomb was set to create chaos and get everyone to the hospital, as you probably know. The idea that he saw muslim women there was probably to denote the crazy extremism...to again show that it isn't the religion that is a danger, it is the mix of the religion and politics that is.

Also agree on the boyscout take. You can't go through what he did and still be a naive boyscout about the ways of the world.