If you weren’t aware, there’s a relatively popular streaming series receiving a movie finale in the final weeks of May and promises to bring back characters from the show for a new feature film adventure. And, no, I’m not talking about The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Jack Ryan: Ghost War, based on the 2018 four season Amazon Prime series, takes John Krasinski‘s analyst-turned operative Jack Ryan into another globe-spanning manhunt. After stepping away from the CIA at the end of the show’s fourth season, we meet Jack again as he’s found a form of “normal life” on Wall Street and away from the action. But, when CIA deputy director and old friend James Greer (Wendell Pierce) has a life-or-death situation, Jack is reluctantly dragged back into his old life of covert espionage.
Bringing back the show’s comedic side with wingman Mike November (Michael Kelly) and adding in shadowy MI6 operative Emma Marlowe (Sienna Miller), this covert team works to uncover a plot from a rogue cell of ex-operatives that were specifically trained for flashpoint counter-terrorism. After excommunication, this team, led by Liam Crown (Max Beesley), seeks vengeance against the agencies that dismissed him, and more personally, James Greer.
While we may understand Crown’s motives, we’re never quite sure of his larger intentions. The swift execution of our heroes is a given, but there’s never any greater incident or constraint that usually works to amp up the stakes in a story like this. It boils down to find the bad guy and kill the bad guy. While mildly exciting, it does this without any real urgency, bringing an unfortunately dull edge to the overall scope of this adventure.
This movie (and the series) is working at its best when there’s smart dialogue paired with gripping high-stakes tension. This script by Krasinski and Aaron Rabin does allow for some of that, but gets too bogged down on Crown without letting the actual characters of this series flourish. While I wish there were more examples, one nice parallel included is between Ryan and Marlowe, almost as two sides of the same coin. Unable to find connection due to their chaotic lifestyle, they find a kindred bond in their shared isolation.
Thankfully, it also doesn’t do too much with it. Their chemistry and rapport come easily and while not stealing the show, manages enough emotionality to make this not feel so synthetic. A lot is due in part to what Krasinski has brought to this character over the years and why it’s one of his strongest roles to date. He manages a casual confidence with a gravitating charm, but knows when to show the unrelenting nature of his devotion to global security. It’s an interesting mix of icons like James Bond and Ethan Hunt and through Krasinski, he brings his own signature to this character.
Though it feels an awful lot like Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation-lite, there are certainly more egregiously embarrassing Amazon Prime originals and action-streamers that fall below Jack Ryan: Ghost War. I’d venture to say that fans of the series will definitely get more out of this experience, but I don’t think a passive action/espionage fan would be all too lost here.
Still, for a series that really had a strong focus on global politics, this seemed to lack a bit of its usual intellectual “oomph”. It might be easier for shorter form media, but it isn’t worth discarding entirely. A fine finale, though maybe could’ve been a bit more.
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