Reviews: The Sum of All Fears

[JoBlo]

JoBlo's 6/10 review of THE SUM OF ALL FEARS can be found here: http://www.joblo.com/sumofallfears.htm

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[JonPulliam]

The Sum of All Fears

Overall Rating : 2/10
Story : 1/10
Acting : 4/10

My Review

Caution : Some Very Minor Spoilers

I knew going into The Sum of All Fears what was going to happen. I have read the excellent book by Tom Clancy and was looking forward to the film version. However, I was grossly let down. The film is of course another adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel featuring the CIA super-agent Jack Ryan. Ryan (who has been played by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford previously) is now played by Ben Affleck. I was surprised at Affleck’s acting. I thought he may do damage to the tough-guy image of Jack Ryan. But Affleck actually did a decent job.

There are always plenty of A-list character actors available to nurture Ryan through whatever crisis ensues, and in this one you’ve got Morgan Freeman, Dylan Baker, James Cromwell and the great Liev Schreiber. The supporting cast seems somewhat like one of those text-based video games from the stone ages, where the key to advancing was to ask someone a precisely worded question to get whatever needed information they have.

So anyway the plot goes like this : Ryan has to stop terrorists - neo-Nazis, which was changed from the book’s Middle Eastern attackers. My guess is it was done so as not to seem racist and in light of recent world events. Ryan’s job is to keep the terrorists from setting of a nuclear weapon. Sadly, he doesn’t. This, in and of itself, is not the biggest problem that derails the entire movie. What kills the film dead is that this nuclear catastrophe is treated as if it isn’t that big of a deal. Only one of the major characters is killed in the ordeal, and the whole event is treated as one of those trials the hero must endure to motive him to take out the bad guys with passionate fervor.

Here’s the real galling aspect of the film’s shameless use of annihilation - nobody really cares. I don’t mean that the characters don’t remark on or feel emotionally effected by the loss of almost an entire state, but the movie’s big explosion could be any other kind of big explosion or catastrophe to motivate the hero. And of course no one involved in the movie’s production seems to feel that schlepping this out onto the big screen is a bad idea.

=+= Jon =+=

[belphegor]

dull. totally forgettable fare. some "ok" acting, but that's not enough to positively affect the strains of a half under-baked script. affleck is better than i expected. freeman is great and while i'll gladly hang logic at the door of any bond flick, i had a hard time in trying to do so for this one...

[This message has been edited by belphegor (edited 06-02-2002).]

[sig226]

My biggest complaint, is the movie did not
follow the book, at all.
My next complaint seems to apply to all the
movies coming out (Star Wars, Spiderman, ...)
is that they seem like they had a 3 hour movie that they cut down to 2 hours.
Overall, probably a 6 if you never read the book, but a 3 if you did.
Do yourself a favor, forget the movie, buy the book.

[giggles8D]

Am I the only one who enjoyed this movie?

Now before you start snickering that it is just that I enjoyed seeing Ben on the big screen for 2 hrs. (okay that's true) let tell you why. I found the book to drag (until the bomb goes off) and to be kind of disorganized (this could be the result of reading the book over several weeks period and so I had to keep refamilairizing myself with the story) Also can I say I hated the president and NSA director in the book -I didn't like that we don't get the pleasure of Liz Elliot getting her ass handed to her for the crap she pulled in the book!

I liked that the movie for obvious reasons that it was much more streamlined and fast paced. I thought it was a pleasant mixture of action/drama with just a bit of humor. And I agree that to try and cover the depth of this book in a movie would take 4-5 hours at least.

The movie goes a long way in reviving this franchise and I look forward to the next movie!

My predicition is that we will be seeing a lot more of Liev Schiebler -he really brought Clark to life for me.

[Invincible]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by giggles8D:
Am I the only one who enjoyed this movie?</font>

Not really, I liked the movie even though I've never read the book...My favorite part is of course when it comes to...both countries Russia and United States, almost nukeking themselves but Ryan tries to explain to both Presidents that it's not Russia who blew up an Atomic bomb in Baltimore...anyways, I liked that part

Good movie

7/10

[Phoenix]

My initial score I gave The Sum of All Fears was a 7/10, which was about an hour after watching it when my friend and I were discussing it. But over the past week every time I would think about the film the plot just kept falling apart. In the end I give this film a 6/10 because of the just above average suspense at the end and the acting by Affleck and Freeman. I really like Affleck as an actor and there's no one better than Freeman in that role. One more positive in the movie is how the nuclear explosion is directed, it really gives you a greater sense of the power of the bomb than a bird's eye view of the city.

Now on to the problems (the plot) SPOILERS.

First of all there is no way in hell that the U.S. would give Isreal (or any country without nuclear capabilities) a nuclear bomb (I know the CIA stole it and gave it to them but that wouldnt happen either). I am pretty sure that every shipment from a foriegn country undergoes a test for radioactivity (even before 9/11) so there is no way a nuclear bomb can be smuggled in on a dock like that. Second of all the bomb was put in a cigarette vending machine and then put in stadium (and it was domed), there is no smoking allowed in stadiums and if there are some small areas will smoking is allowed have you ever seen a cigarette vending machine in a stadium, not me. There is no way (yes, another one) that the U.S. would be launching nukes at Russia so quickly. The President and others would wait at least a week or so to gather information on the attack (just like 9/11) from numerous intelligence agencies. And, of course, that would mean Russia would have no reason to launch. There's alot more plot holes but their not as large (like radiation and electronics being fried from the nuke). Also, the ending was way too Hollywood.

End of SPOILERS.

If you have nothing to do and seen all the good movies at the theater The Sum of All Fears is just above average and fairly enjoyable if you try to ignore the plot holes. Like I said the nuke going off was done very well and the acting was above average so it's not a complete waste of time.

[Moviefreek]

When i first saw the trailers for this film, it didn't grab my attention. Nothing really else out to see so i decided take a shot at it and here is my review.

The acting was great. Freeman and Affleck give enjoyable performances. The rest of the cast did great also, many enjoyable actors were in this film, which made the film overall better.

The story was good also. It kept me entertained very highly. It started out slow, but after the attack, it was uphill for a good ride. After the attack is when things started to get real interesting and gives you an edge of your seat ride, you'll wish you were there to help Ben Affleck out. There is a little bit of love in the movie, for the women.

There weren't a great deal of special effects except for the bombing, which was done very nicely. I don't think it will bother the audience, but that is just my opinion.

See this movie for entertainment and see it for the performances. I didn't think it would be that good, but it ends up being one of the best movies this year so far.

8/10

[B-ball Dude]

Movie 6/10
Acting 10/10
Overall 7/10

This movie was good, it has good acting, but it was very hard to follow. By the end of the movie I knew what happened but I had to ask the person I went with what the hell was going on. If you want to see a good movie with good actors and a hard but good storyline then go see this, Otherwise go see Undercover Brother.

[Puck Bond]

The Sum of All Fears 8/10...

The Sum of All Fears is a crackling, taut, intense thriller, that moves along at a blistering pace and it kept me riveted from start to finish. Ben Affleck is good as a young and inexperienced Jack Ryan trying to prevent nuclear war between the US and Russia. Morgan Freeman is also good as Ryan's mentor/teacher if you will(Yeah like he has ever been bad in this role). I liked the good, snappy exchange between Freeman and Affleck...it was believable and often quite witty and funny. this film is also has some memorable scenes and shots...I especially liked the shot of the trucks going to a Russian nuclear research facility on this long, white icy road. I also liked how when the story changed locations...we got a shot above the city using satellites etc. It really stood out in the Mid-east locals....because you could see the contrast of city and sand dunes. I also liked how this film deals with the politics of war rooms...with presidents and advisors...and it showed both the Russian and US sides...which is refreshing. Its not just good vs. evil...these are reasonable and cautious men and are often affected by bad information and opinions etc. Not to give anything away, but I loved the end of this film...especially how they dealt with who was responsible for all the mayhem...and this was all due to the music(I'm pretty sure its the theme from the 1990 World Cup-Pavarotti/opera or something...anyway I just love that tune)...and it worked well with what was happening. It just really added to an already terrific movie. So overall The Sum of All Fears is a terrific action/thriller starring Ben Affleck as a young Jack Ryan...and definately worth seeing...just for some pretty cool and "wow" moments.

[Strider]

The Sum of All Fears (2002)

Rated PG-13 for Violence, Disaster Images, & Brief Strong Language

Director: Phil Alden Robinson

Starring Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Liev Schreiber, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Bates, Phillip Baker Hall, Ron Rifkin, Bruce McGill, & Colm Feore.

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0164184/SOAF-2980.jpg

Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) is a young, amatuer C.I.A. agent who along with another agent who mentors him, Bill Cabot (Morgan Freeman) must help to find a nuclear weapon.

After watching the brilliant "Changing Lanes" two months ago, my faith in Ben Affleck's acting abilities grew stronger. And I was anxious to see if he could do a good job playing "Jack Ryan", a role once played by Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin. Well, now that I've watched the film, I can say that Affleck delivered a solid performance, but was unable to defeat Ford and Baldwin. But still, for carrying a film all by himself, Affleck did a damn good job! As for the rest, Morgan Freeman was his usual self... great. James Cromwell was superb as well. Everybody else was easily forgettable.

"The Sum of All Fears" was a solid flick, it had a somewhat decent script, it keeps you at the edge-of-your-seat, and surprisingly, it's thought-provoking. But the film moves at a slow pace, it's a little on the boring side, and it lacks the energy the other Jack Ryan films had. Is it worth seeing? Yes and No. It's not going to kill you if you watch it, but it's not going to kill you if you wait for the video either.

Running Time: 2 hours 12 minutes

Grade: 6.5/10

Strider

[movieDUDE68686]

The Sum of All Fears
RATED: PG-13 RUNNING TIME: 2:12

"The Sum of All Fears" is not an action movie persay. After seeing the trailer I was expecting a more classy Armageddon or Deep Impact. But I got a slow, almost boring at times 2 hours and 12 minutes. I will give credit to Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman who do excellant jobs, in their roles which suit them perfectly. But once the film starts, the auidence seems to expect a fun-packed action flick, but they get a more slower paced, diolauge lesson almost. There is a lot of talking in this movie that really slows it down, and makes viewers sleepier versus ready for action. ***semi-spoiler*** But the special fx are very good; when the bomb hits Baltimore it is very realistic and gives the audience a grim reality check on what is possible.
The Sum of all fears does deliver good performances, but really dares viewers to stay awake.

6/10

[DigityDarKMaN]

Ok, this movie wasnt great. But it wasnt horrible either. The story line kept you interested with the whole idea of a nuke getting planted in a football stadium, thats pretty damn scary, and face it nowadays you have to think about that stuff, anywho, i enjoyed this movie. 7/10

[boogieboy]

Again, read the boox and microwave your own popcorn. Why must Hollywood murder great books? They certainly could have stuck to much mroe of the story in their allotted 2 hours.

What happened to the Liz Elliot character? Was it too politically incorrect for a woman to be a bitch?

Here is a book spoiler for you: Fowler is a BAD president and ends up leaving office in Shame, which sets us up for a couple Clancy stories really worth making into a movie. Oh, and Cabot is not the 'NEW' Greer... he is an idiot who can't do his job.

But the cherry of all blunders came when the filmakers gave in to an arab rights group and elected not to make the bomb come from Palestinian terrorists. After all, it is so much more believeable that a neo-nazi austrian wants to blow up Americans and Russians than Hamas... right? OUCH!

The only thing this movie accomplishes is that it destroys any hope that future Ryan movies might have anything to do with the books they are supposedly based on.

[mattjk_17]

mattjk_17's review of "The Sum of All Fears"

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0164184/SOAF-C1148-15A.jpg

This movie wasn't actually that bad, considering I don't usually look forward to seeing Ben Affleck movies (although I end up enjoying them most of the time). The whole idea of a nuclear bomb being planted inside a football stadium, as already mentioned (thanks, DigityDarKMaN) is a pretty scary one. I thought that The Sum of All Fears was a good way to kill some time, and surprisingly one of the better movies of this summer (In my own opinion, anyways).

Morgan Freeman did a great job as always (can he go wrong?), James Cromwell also put in a fine performance as President Fowler. I was also pleased to see Liev Schreiber as well, portraying John Clark. Ben Affleck did a good job as Jack Ryan.

Not a must see movie, but worth a look.

Score: 7.5/10

[REAL_XYZ]

The sum of MY fears is that I see another movie like this. This flick moved at a very slow and boring pace until the "Baltimore event" and even after than I was checking my watch.

I didn't believe Ben Affleck in his role. I think the character wasn't cast very well. I didn't feel the chemistry between him and his girlfriend. (Or the chemistry between anyone and anyone else in the movie). Morgan Freeman did a normally good job, but that's a typical role for him. Ho hum. And I would have preferred just about anyone else besides James Cromwell as the President. Who cast this movie?

The first thing that came to my mind when the movie was over was "whatever!" The only saving grace for me was I only paid 75 cents to waste my time on this movie.

I say......4/10.

[Minster9]

I liked it. I would say 7/10. The funny thing about it is that I had a real bad nightmare the night I saw the film about the film. I haven't had a nightmare about a movie since I was six years old (40 years ago).

[MovieMan75]

Eh, this was okay. I'm with you, JoBlo. I liked the premise, and the teaming of Morgan Freeman with Ben Affleck was great. But it just wasn't all that exciting or interesting of a movie. This was supposed to be a thriller/drama, but I wasn't all that thrilled at anything in it. It was an interesting idea, and the acting was good. There were several mildly exciting scenes, but most of it was very confusing. Simply put, this was just a badly exectuted movie. And the romantic subplot was as cliched as they come. Not entirely reccomended. :(

My Rating: 6/10