The Sum of All Fears - 06/29/02

Ben Affleck plays a young Jack Ryan... and Bridget Moynahan plays Cathy Muller... who later turns into Cathy Muller Ryan... but the film takes place in the PRESENT... it's all too weird.

I had attempted to read a Tom Clancy novel once... October to be precise... and I couldn't get through it. I had a very hard time getting through the technical details of the subs... along with all of the political hierarchy. But... I have to give Peter Iliff, Donald Stewart (Patriot Games), Stewart, Steven Zaillian, John Milius (Danger) and Stewart and Larry Ferguson (October)... I have to give these guys a hand. They adapted what I think is probably some of the densest material out there... and summarized them into one incredible movie (October) and two decent sequels.

I think, hands down, October is the best of the three... and not only because of the cast, but because of the material as well.

Paul Attanasio and Daniel Pyne adapted Fears... and I have to say that with the timeline completely thrown... I would have to say that someone didn't do their job correctly. Attanasio has adapted a few novels to the screen, including Quiz Show, Disclosure, Donnie Brasco and Sphere... and I think one of the harder jobs in screenwriting is adaptation... so it's no wonder why he was chosen for this job... and Pyne has written some mediocre work over the past two decades, including Pacific Heights, The Hard Way, Doc Hollywood, White Sands and Any Given Sunday... none of them spectacular stories.

Did they not do their job?

Produced by Mac Neufeld, who has a pretty decent resume... has produced each of Clancy's adaptations... so could it have been him who decided to destroy the Ryan timeline for the audience?

Both Clancy and Stratton Leopold were Executive Producers of this film... and it's obvious why Clancy was one... and Leopold, even though has worked on some fairly recent mainstream films... I don't think he could have given the decision to make such a large mistake...

It's a mystery to me, to be sure.

I'm a huge fan of the director, Phil Alden Robinson. I think one of the smarter films to come out of the 1990's was Sneakers, and I really enjoyed Field of Dreams... he did an incredible job directing those films... and I think he did an incredible job with this film as well. I was very impressed, overall, with the work of the entire cast and crew... but I still want to know who made that damned decision!

Universes, in regards to characters... they are very touchy things. You can't just go around and change things at whim... well, I mean, you can... but that disorientates your audience. I know it did me.

Something that my friend Chris pointed out after the film... and here's a spoiler, so be warned... that the case in which the bomb was used, a cigarette machine... there would be no way for that machine to be in the football stadium, since you cannot sell cigarettes at a sporting event... BUT... since this story was supposed to take place in Ryan's past... and who knows where or when... it is possible to assume that the film was supposed to take place in the 1980's... when sports arenas allowed cigarette vending machines... but then, I would have to say that that little slip up was the fault of the writers.

End spoiler.

Now, I have to admit that it is very easy to jump on the Ben Affleck Hate Wagon. I know lots of people who don't like his work... and I think they are tired of the Affleck / Damon machine. I can understand that. It's hard to have a series of films dominated by two individuals... even though there are a number of other actors who are of the same age group and doing other great work.

And, you know... after Project Greenlight...

But, anyway. He did a good job in this film. When he's on, he's on. And he brings a personality to each of his roles that is very similar... but it's not to the point that we're tired of it... or at least that I'm tired with it.

I'm interested to see what he brings to the role of Daredevil in 2003. Should be interesting. But someone should tell him to stop making films with Kevin Smith. Jesus.

I'm getting tired of Morgan Freeman as a character. He's been the same person for well over ten years... with no real change at all. His last great role was in The Shawshank Redemption and Seven... but I've lost interest since then. His work in the James Patterson adaptations (Kiss the Girls, Along Came A Spider) were just awful decisions... and terribly made films.

OK, ok, he was good in Unforgiven, too. But, 3 out of 37... not good.

James Cromwell. I always enjoy watching him... he's got a much larger range than I thought he would. His work on Star Trek: First Contact, LA Confidential, The Green Mile... hell, even Species II. I've enjoyed him in pretty much everything he's done... and he brought a great sense of humor to the character of The President.

Liev Schreiber. GOD, I am so glad he didn't get typecast in the Scream films. He is a really great actor, and I think he did a phenomenal job in this film. I really enjoy his deadpan approach to acting, and his ability to change attitudes at the drop of a hat, and not look like he's overacting. I hope that his roles in the future prove to be more lucrative than second stringing behind Affleck... even though there are worse places to second string.

Alan Bates, Ciaran Hinds, Philip Baker Hall and Ron Rifkin play out their roles pretty well. We've seen their faces enough... I think that the faceless command of the free world should really be played by unknowns... to really force our hatred and fear towards these individuals who hold our lives in their hands.

This film has come out at a pivotal moment in history... when we're all in a state of confusion... and are not exactly sure what's going to happen halfway around the world. It was a little breathtaking to watch this film, with the themes so close to home... but I think that it's important to live life knowing what might / could happen at any moment.

On a purely social and political end... I could go on about how scary the world is, and how ridiculous it is that a few choice individuals think they have the right to kill us all... and maybe I'll do that in my journal... but this is just a movie review, so I won't get into it here.

Suffice it to say that this movie, for me, was the best so far this year. I thought that, even with its timeline shortcomings... it was a very riveting movie, and held me captivated the entire time.