Patriot Games (Film Review)

1992 Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Philip Noyce; Written by: W. Peter Iliff Donald E. Stewart (based on the novel by Tom Clancy)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin, Sean Bean, Thora Birch, James Fox, Samuel L Jackson, James Earl Jones, and Richard Harris
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 117 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10

Jack Ryan is finally living the boring life he's always dreamed of. Much to his wife and young daughter's appreciation, Jack has left his job as a CIA analyst behind to become a history teacher. Now, the trio are on a nice, relaxing trip to London, so Jack can deliver a guest lecture. Everything appears to be champagne and family monopoly games, but unfortunately, fate has something else in mind. One morning, as Jack is meeting his family near the royal palace, an IRA splinter cell attacks a British Lord's car. That's when the part of Jack that most definitely does not want to live a boring life takes over. In a split second, he's taking out bad guys, getting shot, and finding himself face to face on the pavement with terrorist, Sean Miller, along with Miller's dead brother, who just so happened to have been killed by Jack. Miller gets hauled off to prison, and Jack to the hospital. After Miller's trial, a shaken but healed Ryan family head back to America. Somehow, though, the British prisoner transportation service is no match for Irish terrorists...and a free Miller, along with his crew, are on the loose. The empowered terrorists want to strike back at the British Royals...but Sean Miller only has eyes for Jack Ryan.
Director, Philip Noyce, streamlines Tom Clancy's 1987 book, Patriot Games, into a mostly taut thriller. Some, including Clancy himself, fretted that a recast Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan (in the first of two outings), was too old for the part. Instead, Ford presents here a sort of uber-Ryan, the ultimate take on the character. The legendary actor brings out all of Ryan's righteous, boy-scout qualities, his family man nature, yet also nails that always-percolating Jack Ryan anger that's just waiting to be unleashed on any violators of the greater good. Ford has excellent chemistry with both Anne Archer, who plays his wife, and a young Thora Birch, as his daughter. The three make for a very believable family, heightening the tension and audience investment when that family is threatened. Conversely, as the rogue terrorist, Miller, Sean Bean is a lean and menacing threat, never saying much, often staring into the distance and distractedly biting his lip, as his cohorts drone on about the importance of their actual, royal-killing mission. The opening half of the film moves at a frantic clip, up until the point that Ryan is forced to take back his old job at the CIA. This slower midsection makes for a nice bathroom break, but don't stay in there too long, as the film soon kicks it back into high gear, with not only a major action set-piece in the Ryan home, but a balls-out boat chase that would make Michael Bay stutter.
This film may not contain a preponderance of depth (or political commentary on its subject matter), and Clancy may have bristled with the production replacing a lot of CIA deskwork with machine guns and speedboats, but as an atmospheric thriller, Patriot Games is tops. Great performances by everyone involved, a brisk pace, stunning imagery courtesy of Noyce and cinematographer, Donald McAlpine, slick editing that never resorts to quick cuts, and a brilliant, Celtic-influenced score by James Horner (with an assist from Clannad) ensure Patriot Games delivers the goods and then some.