ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

TeenzTen An action-packed slog

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

NateWatchesCoolMovies Surprisingly, The Sum Of All Fears is my favourite film version of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels. Alec Baldwin did a bang up job in the superb Hunt For Red October, Harrison Ford held his in two beyond excellent entries, and we won't speak of the Chris Pine/Keira Knightley snooze-palooza from a few years back. Why then do I gravitate towards this Ben Affleck incarnation? Who knows. Battfleck himself makes an adequate, inquisitive Ryan, on the younger end of the rope and under the guidance of CIA Yoda Morgan Freeman. I think it's the early 00's tone of the film itself though, the whip smart editing, Bourne-style escalation of suspense and terrific ensemble cast, a hallmark among Clancy films. Affleck embodies a younger, inexperienced Ryan whose infamous intuition is just breaching the surface of his character, right on time for a deadly plot to set off a nuclear device on American soil. A German radical (Alan Bates, underplaying evil nicely) with vague ties to a Neo Nazi faction is cooking up a false flag attack against Russia, using a long dormant warhead supplied by arch mercenary Colm Feore. Or at least I think that's the crux of it, these cloak and dagger affairs can get pretty dense on you sometimes. There's a sense of global danger though, a level of stress that ratchets up until even the stoic US President (an explosive James Cromwell) begins to lose it. The Russian President (Ciaran Hinds) gravely tries to sort out the misunderstanding, whilst Clancy staple character John Clark (Liev Schreiber gives Willem Dafoe a run for his money) covertly smokes out conspirators. Unease and tension nestle into the narrative, and when that impending disaster is minutes away during a hectic NFL game, you can feel the suspense in the air. The supporting cast is rich with talent including Michael Byrne, Bruce McGill, Philip Baker Hall, Josef Sommer, Ron Rifkin, Lisa Gay Hamilton and gorgeous Bridget Moynahan as Ryan's fiancé. I've got nothing but love for Red October, Patriot Hames and Clear & Present Danger, but something about this one hit a frequency and resonated with me a little better, coming out on top as the most re-watchable, enjoyable entry.

adonis98-743-186503 CIA analyst Jack Ryan must thwart the plans of a terrorist faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's newly elected president by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore. If there's a reason why people hated this film is probably cause of Ben Affleck umm the dude is Batman for god shakes the reason why i loved this film is because it has a lot of great spy stuff some people called it boring others even a propaganda but in the end it's still a great film that even tho is slow as hell it's pretty good when it comes to spy people or killing them in cool ways. Sum of all Fears won't be remembered in the next 20 minutes because there isn't something classic in it but in the end it's still a pretty cool film.

FilmBuff1994 The Sum of All Fears is a good movie with a well written storyline and a great cast.It is a very good thriller and it has some great special effects as well,but I didn't find any of the action or dialogue very breathtaking.Its definitely the worst Jack Ryan film to date,although I did really enjoy Ben Affleck as Ryan,he's certainly no Harrison Ford but he was definitely better than Alec Baldwin,I would have liked to see more Ryan films with Affleck in the main role but it dosen't seem like that will be happening anytime soon.I wasn't impressed with the amount of screen time Morgan Freeman received,they made it seem like he was a very main character in this but he probably had 20 minutes of screen time,I was surprised to see James Cromwell in this,I thinks he's an underrated actor who would rarely star in movies like this,but he played an important role and did a great job.Fans of previous Jack Ryan films won't love it,but you won't hate it either,Sum of All Fears is an enjoyable movie that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good thriller or drama if it's ever on television. Jack Ryan must prevent the plans of a terrorist organisation that is trying to start huge conflict between Russia and the USA. Best Performance: James Cromwell

Desertman84 The Sum Of All Fears is an action/political thriller that features Jack Ryan,the famous CIA spy developed by Tom Clancy.This is the fourth film about the character that was based on Clancy's novel with the same title after the likes of The Hunt For Red October,Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger were made into films. In it,it features a younger Jack Ryan portrayed by Ben Affleck.The cast also includes Morgan Freeman and Bridget Moynahan. Phil Alden Robinson directed it.The President of Russia passed away and he is succeeded by an unknown whom little information is known.This causes panic to many nations especially the United States.To pacify the fears felt by many,the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Bill Cabot recruits Jack Ryan,a young analyst working from the Russia desk to gather information and provide insight.But many events happen such as the capital of Chechnya is leveled by a nuclear bomb.Then fear intensifies especially when terrorist threats are being made to the U.S.It is now up to Jack Ryan to prevent these threats or another world war could happen anytime soon.This new Jack Ryan film is somewhat unrealistic and lacks plausibility particularly with the events that could happen particularly in the international front and the political motivations behind the countries involved in conflict.The bomb being set at a Superbowl was somewhat cheesy although it did manage to provide suspense to the story.Added to that,we get to see the new character more of a heartthrob rather than an intelligence expert.While many female fans may not disapprove of that especially with Affleck playing the lead role,it is distracting and it somewhat takes away many substances that Tom Clancy's novels want to provide his intended audience.It made a lot of money more than ten years ago.Although it was far from a typical Clancy novel and what intelligence spies are all about,it will definitely provide entertainment and great musical soundtrack.While this may displease many critics and the serious moviegoer,an average fan may not find displeasure in it for it was definitely a fun movie for them especially if they like Mission Impossible and James Bond films.