Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6373 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-03-31
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: Arabic, English, German, Russian, Ukrainian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 119 minutes

Special Features
Commentary by Director Phil Alden Robinson and Cinematographer John Lindley
Commentary by Director Phil Alden Robinson and novelist Tom Clancy
A Cautionary Tale
Visual Effects
Theatrical Trailer
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Anamorphic widescreen
Languages: English, Czech
Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Turkish

Synopsis
In this high-intensity drama, based on the novel by Tom Clancy, Ben Affleck stars as Jack Ryan, the CIA agent from Clancy's THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Here, Ryan is dealing with a terrifying new problem: a nuclear weapon has fallen into the hands of foreign terrorists who are determined to create a war between Russia and the U.S.
As the film begins, a South African arms dealer (Colm Feore) acquires a long-lost nuclear weapon and sells it, at great profit, to a resurgent group of fascists led by Dressler (Alan Bates), who plans to lure the U.S. and Russia into a war. Soon after, the Russian premiere dies and the relatively unknown Nemerov (Ciaran Hinds) replaces him. But U.S. president Fowler (James Cromwell) smells a rat, and calls CIA chief William Cabot (Morgan Freeman) and special agent Jack Ryan (Affleck), the junior analyst who has been researching Nemerov, into action.
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS is a powerful addition to Tom Clancy's techno-thriller series. Affleck is effective, and there are notable supporting performances from Freeman, Cromwell, Feore, Hinds, Bates, and Liev Schreiber as a CIA operative. Director Phil Alden Robinson manages the action with great skill. Particularly notable are the terrifying nuclear attack and the sequence of final reckonings intercut with Puccini's beautiful aria "Nessun Dorma."

Customer Reviews

Action-Packed! Lives up to the Spirit of the Book
The film begins with gripping scenes and haunting music ... Fighter jets landing, powerful spiritual music that is sad and almost like a funeral - setting the tone for what is to come. Ben Affleck plays the CIA agent Jack Ryan to perfection. There is great casting for all the major roles and key characters in the book. Although in the book, the city of Denver is the location used by terrorists for the attack, the choice of Baltimore, Maryland makes sense, since there is a port which clearly can be the point of entry for contraband. The fact is the film remains true to the intentions and spirit of Tom Clancy's book. There is political maneuvering, espionage, edge-of-your seat gripping moments after the attack and a very well executed plot. Suspense builds and the story unfolds ... The topic is fascinating and timely. It is almost like the "007" films of old ... You more or less know what to expect, but the ride is so engaging, you are caught up in the drama and events.

A nuclear bomb is discovered in the desert by a bedouin, left buried from a downed airplane during the '73 Israeli War. He suspects it has some value and can make money by selling it. An agent purchases it for a mere pittance, vastly less than its true worth ... so realistic. After the unexpected death of the Russian President, his replacement is investigated by the CIA. The US President, his advisors and the CIA are busy extracting information about this relative "dark horse" to discover his stand on the major issues. In the past, Jack Ryan had written a paper on him, extrapolating his views on world events ... He accompanies a delegation from the US to visit Russia and ensure nuclear disarmament is going according to plans. Each side assesses the opposition with wary reminders of the past ever in the forefront of their minds ... How difficult it was to learn about Soviet arms during the cold war, US agents had died trying to access .information ... now a delegation was freely being shown the labs, nuclear reactor and storage facilties. Times had indeed changed ...

The US President attends a filled to capacity football stadium in Baltimore, MD when suddenly, unexpectedly and rapidly Secret Agents usher him out ... A huge explosion occurs, with the mushroom cloud indicating a nuclear bomb went off. During the disaster, Jack Ryan seeks his superior, only to find him taking his last breath. He pays his last respects and uses his cell phone and ID bage to enter the White House. Jack had discovered irrefutable evidence that proves it was *not* a Russian attack. The nuclear substance originated in the United States. The fingerprints of the explosion and subsequent fall out are positive proof. However, suspense builds as the US President and Russian President are on stand-by preparing for war ... trying to read each others motives for action. The unraveling of the peace accords takes minutes although it took years and years to create peace and disarmament. The difficult decisions faced by the US President are depicted superbly ... The raw emotions arising during such a national disaster are naturally conveyed. The only failure in the film is the choice of selecting a disgruntled fascist group as the culprits for the attack. Keeping it closer to the story line in the book would have paid off huge dividends in the short and long run. In the years following 2001 and the Sept. 11th attack, using ancient history such as Nazi-like fascists as the enemy just does not play well with an audience. It leaves a huge credibility gap ...this is why it reminds me of the "007" films. Despite this one major flaw, for which I deducted one star, the film was a hit with this viewer. I highly recommend it.
Erika Borsos (bakonyvilla)

Good, but could be so much better
How much you enjoy this film depends largely on whether or not you’ve read the novel on which it is based. If you have, and are expecting a film closely based on it, you may be slightly underwhelmed. If you haven’t and are just wanting to see an action film that needs a little more thought than the average Schwarzenegger fare, you will probably be most impressed.
The main problem that the filmmakers had is that The Sum Of All Fears is such an enormous book with massive amounts of plot lines and characters, which is simply too much for a two hour long film, so a great deal is omitted. Another is that, with the possible exception of the unbelievable Executive Orders, it is probably the finest Jack Ryan novel, increasing expectations to unrealistic levels (probably the main problem with the film for me, to be honest). Yet another is the casting of Ben Affleck as Ryan. Affleck is a fine young actor and plays his part well, but the part itself seems all wrong. Changing of the story to make Ryan a rookie at the CIA does not really work, and is to the detriment of the film as a whole.
However, despite my gripes, I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I enjoyed the film a lot, and there is a lot to admire, not least the very impressive special effects for the nuclear explosion and the air strike scenes. It’s just as a big fan of Tom Clancy’s books, I was maybe expecting too much from the film.

Welcome Jack Ryan MKIII
The first thing that everyone knows about this film is that we have the third reincarnation of Jack Ryan. And this can be a bit disturbing to some people.

We've had the hammy Alec Baldwin and the heavyweight Harrison Ford. Now for film 4 we have the pretty but not that convincing Ben Affleck.

This caused a dilemma for the director and led to a wholesale script rewrite. Out have gone the Arab terrorists of the book and are replaced by a neo-Nazi group of Europeans. Evidently we can't offend Arabs but Europeans are open season for Hollywood. The film still centres on a nuclear bomb being smuggled into the US and used to destroy a city.

The other problem for the film makers was the need to reinvent Ryan as a younger character to accomodate Affleck. As such they have used it to show some of Ryan's earlier life and to include the meeting and courtship of his future wife.

The film is an engrossing thriller but not a blood and guts action movie. There is a strong cast and a good, well told story.

Does Affleck cut it as a young Jack Ryan? I think that depends on your view of him. I think he's a liitle too wooden but this is a good addition to the series. Let's hope he gets another chance.