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A RTSJuMonday
June 3, 200210
v
Sub-par 'Sum' is entertaining .
despite poor lead perfomance
By Andy Taylor-Fabe worm and not a trained field agent, don't fight Russia and the United
Daily Arts Writer but when the new Russian presi- States You make them fight each
dent Nemerov (on whom Ryan is other." After the device goes off in
"The Sum of All Fears," the an expert) takes office, Ryan is Baltimore (relax, if you have seen a
fourth movie based on Tom Clan- summoned by C.I.A. Chief Bill single preview of this film, you
cy's Jack Ryan series, is a disap- Cabot (Morgan Freeman) to act as already know this), the United States.
pointing resurrection of the a consultant. Apparently, the White is unsure of the identity of the perpe-
previously great franchise. With House is concerned that Nemerov trators, leaving the two superpowers in
dull and sometimes embarrassing is a hard-liner who will step up an uncomfortable and dangerous posi-
dialogue and severe miscasting aggression in Chechnya. tion. As alarmists on either side urge
of the lead role, "Sum" is a The real conflict begins, their leaders to attack first, Ryan, who
caricature of its more however, when a group of is the only one who knows what is
subtle predecessors. fascists buy a small going on, must convince both sides not
The film version of nuclear device that was to start World War III.
the 1991 Clancy tech- lost in the Arab-Israeli The film, although it has definite
no-thriller novel has conflict of 1973. The style and atmosphere, lacks the
been made into a pre- goal of this group of heart of the previous entries in the
quel with Ryan (who international right-wing, Jack Ryan series. There are several
was played previously white supremacists and culprits involved, including the
by Alec Baldwin in "The neo-Nazis is to take over screenwriters, but the major weak
Hunt for Red October" the world by starting a point is Affleck, who gives an
and by Harrison Ford war between the Unit- unbelievable and uninspiring per-
in "Patriot ed States and formance as Ryan. Perhaps if this One of the only scenes not shown in the
Games" and Russia. As was our first exposure to the char-
"Clear and Dressler acter, we could buy the dreamy 29- the other hand, Affleck, with his
P r e sent (A 1 a n year-old as the action hero-to-be, faux-messy, Carson Daly-esque
Danger") Bates), but with a legacy defined by Harri- hair (worn by every style-con-
portrayed t h e son Ford, it just doesn't work. scious 13 through 30-year-old
by Ben leader Whether Affleck was chosen male in the country) and his sur-
Affleck as of the because of the notori- prisingly flat acting,
a wet-agroup, ously picky Clancy doesn't feel like the
behind-the- *says, (who disapproved of everyman. He looks
e a r s "Hitler Ford for the role from *** more confused than
uninitiat- wasn't the beginning) or to scared at critical
ed C.I.A crazy. try to expand the THE SUM OF ALL moments. Even the
analyst. He was demographics of the FEARS excellent supporting
He is Cour esyaoriount stupid. film to include the cast, including Mor-
a book- Freeman wishes Affleck didn't suck so bad Y o u "Tiger Beat" teenage At Showcase and gan Freeman, James
girl population is Quality 16 Cromwell and Liev
unclear, but Affleck Paramount Schreiber, can't make
can't carry the role. the characters seem
He's too earnest, not enough of a credible.
A NsN AR o . Rsmart-ass, and looks like he's try- Another thing that detracts from
ii C ing too hard. the overall realism of the film is
One of the things that made the villain. I understand that hav-
x'- June 9C Ford's portrayal of Ryan (and his ing the villains be Middle-East ter-
s; 8 p w s.2t acting in general) so compelling rorists as they were in the book
I.ydia Neodelsslin was his ability to show fear and would have some unpleasant con-
Thatre Ann Arbr- - uncertainty and still be a tough sequences (mostly financial), but
guy. He's an ordinary guy in come on - Neo-Nazis? Have we
rd kemtrtextraordinary circumstances. On really gotten to the point where the
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trailer.
only guy who is allowed to be a
villain is a racist white guy who
you can feel safe and politically
correct hating? Oh, wait, I've got
an even better one: While dis-
cussing his evil plot, he could be
kicking a puppy and defecating on
the American flag.
"The Sum of All Fears" doesn't
have the soul of the previous films
in the series. It isn't real enough to
seem like a down-to-earth thriller,
but it isn't playful enough to be a
Bond-type movie. It feels more
like a ripped-from-the-headlines
TV movie than a gripping cine-
matic experience.