Sum of All Fears

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 05 31 (USA)

UPC: 097363372240

Studio: Paramount

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language]

Summary: The successful franchise of Paramount motion pictures based on novelist Tom Clancy's techno-thrillers featuring heroic CIA intelligence analyst Jack Ryan stages a much-publicized "do-over" with this action-adventure that recasts the character of Ryan as a rookie to the complex game of geopolitical warfare. Ben Affleck takes the reins from Harrison Ford as Ryan, a greenhorn CIA historian and analyst who finds himself thrust front and center into the spy community's spotlight when Nemerov (Ciaran Hinds), a Russian politician on whom Ryan is an expert, suddenly becomes the leader of the former Soviet Union upon the current president's unexpected demise. Attached to the director of the CIA, Cabot (Morgan Freeman), Ryan insists -- contrary to the opinions of many high-ranking White House officials -- that Nemerov is not a warmonger. Meanwhile, a cadre of neo-fascists, led by Dressler (Alan Bates), plots the detonation at the Super Bowl in Baltimore, MD, of a nuclear device recovered from a long-ago Israeli fighter jet crash, a terrorist incident they intend to spark a war between the super powers, leaving them to conquer the world in the conflict's post-apocalyptic vacuum. The Sum of All Fears co-stars James Cromwell, Bridget Moynahan, and Liev Schreiber as covert operative John Clark, a character central to another series of Clancy's best-selling tomes. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Features: ccCommentary by the director and cinematographer
Commentary by the director and novelist
The making of the Sum of All Fears
Creating reality: the visual effects of the Sum of All Fears
Theatrical trailer
Widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 and Surround
English and French language
English subtitles

Sum of All Fears

Format: DVD

Release Date: 10/29/2002

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DS Dolby Surround (4.0)

Runtime: 123 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Israel, 1973
2. Mount Weather
3. A New President
4. Meeting Nemerov
5. "Three Scientists Are Missing"
6. Attack on Chechnya
7. A Secret Job
8. "This Virus Is Airborne"
9. Baltimore
10. Chaos
11. The Brink of War
12. Spinnaker
13. Snap Count
14. The Order to Strike
15. Stand Down
16. Keep the Back Channels
17. Credits

Karl Williams

A mostly successful effort to reboot Paramount's successful Tom Clancy franchise of high-tech political thrillers, this elaborate action hit is surprisingly gripping and effective for most of its running time, only fumbling with a poorly developed villain and a few regrettable clich?s in its final act. Quickly becoming the American version of James Bond, the Jack Ryan character is here interpreted by the third actor in only four films, but it's a welcome surprise that Ben Affleck delivers his second good performance in the same year (after Changing Lanes). Affleck revealed a new vulnerability and emotional depth that will be welcomed by fans preferring Alec Baldwin's slightly nerdy take on Ryan over Harrison Ford's more seasoned tough-guy version. The script's conceit of returning Ryan to his young analysis-drone roots works quite well, emphasizing the character's fish-out-of-water qualities and making him a better stand-in for audience identification -- as well as giving the veteran Morgan Freeman something to play against as Ryan's wily fox of a professional mentor. A sequence involving a terrorist nuclear explosion on American soil is handled well effects-wise, and tastefully, out of consideration for real-world events only months before. However, the placement of the climactic blast at the film's midpoint, rather than later in the narrative where it belongs, serves to deflate the remaining tension. Scenes depicting the president's dickering with advisors over whether or not to launch a retaliatory strike smack of overly familiar Cold War vintage dramas such as By Dawn's Early Light, and it doesn't help that Ryan ends up grappling with a beefy neo-Nazi in a darkened Baltimore warehouse, a beat more reminiscent of a typical Barnaby Jones episode than an expensive summer blockbuster. Speaking of Nazis, Alan Bates as the film's proto-Hitler wannabe Dressler is never quite delineated clearly, showing up only occasionally to make demented fascist-apologist speeches and then disappearing for long stretches, his evil scheme never seeming realistic enough to create a palpable sense of dread. Nevertheless, the final payoff is satisfying and for most of the journey there, the filmmakers deliver the pulse-pounding goods, ensuring further Affleck-as-Ryan adventures will be in the offing. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Marie Matiko  Actor 
Sven Ole Thorsen  Actor 
Jerry Goldsmith  Composer (Music Score) 
Mace Neufeld  Producer 
Daniel Pyne  Screenwriter 
Phil Alden Robinson  Director 
Stratton Leopold  Executive Producer 
Paul Attanasio  Screenwriter 
Tom Clancy  Executive Producer 
Ben Affleck  Actor 
Morgan Freeman  Actor 
James Cromwell  Actor 
Liev Schreiber  Actor 
Alan Bates  Actor 
Philip Baker Hall  Actor 
Ron Rifkin  Actor 
Bruce McGill  Actor 
Ciarán Hinds  Actor 
Bridget Moynahan  Actor 
Colm Feore  Actor 
Josef Sommer  Actor 
Ken Jenkins  Actor 
Michael Byrne  Actor 
John Beasley  Actor 
Jamie Harrold  Actor 

Country: USA