TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN: GHOST WAR Review

Betrayal, espionage, and a whole lot of cigarette smoking, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War picks up where the Prime Series left off. Our titular leading man, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski), is back, but rather than the abrasive CIA agent we know and love him to be, this time he is a civilian.

At the end of season 4, Jack had testified before the Senate, exposing high levels of government corruption. Leaving him to be a regular man. That is, until Ghost War ropes Jack back into the line of duty. His former boss and deputy CIA director, James Greer (Wendell Pierce), reveals a global terrorist plan that has been growing underground for decades. Pulling Jack Ryan back into the action.

Ghost War is a classic espionage film. We have not only the CIA in play here, but MI6 as well. Introducing a new character, Agent Emma Marlow (Sienna Miller), helps to uncover even more layers of government corruption across both government organisations. Working side by side with Jack, Deputy Director Greer, and Agent Mike November (Michael Kelly), Agent Marlow reveals that Starling, a former government militant whom Greer was a part of in his early days in the CIA, has been resurrected. Agent Liam Crown (Max Beesley), a former associate of Greers, is running the show, and he is the type of man “who kills the monsters so you don’t have to”. Agent Crown is ruthless and will use whatever methods to access the knowledge he is seeking. 

Unfortunately, despite an action-packed film, Ghost War does not stick out among the large catalogue of espionage films. The uncovering of a secret terrorist organisation has been done time and time again, and there is nothing fresh to this streaming film to entice its audience at home. With a dull grey hue to the film, no matter if we are in New York City, London or Dubai, the film always looks flat. It also suffers from repeating the plot several times to remind the audience what is going on. A new technique streaming platforms use due to their audience's lack of attention, because they are watching the film while on their phones.

As someone who has not watched the television series, maybe this puts me at a disadvantage in enjoying the film, but I feel it makes me more objective about the flaws. 

Ghost War is a great example of an established series not telling the newcomers what is going on in this world. As someone who has never seen the show, I was at a loss as to who any of the characters were and what their motivations were. If a random person comes across Ghost War on Prime Video, I am not sure they would want to check out the series, as the film does little to establish any emotional connections to the characters on screen.

With a notable name like Noah Oppenheim (Jackie, A House of Dynamite) being attached to the project, alongside Krasinski (A Quiet Place franchise), it disappoints me that I was not satisfied after the film ended. I feel the structure of the film was overpacked, and when it transitioned to the screenwriters, they did not condense the material. I do think Ghost War has some exciting moments, do not get me wrong, but I expect a bit more from the final project when names like Oppenheim are working on it. 

Despite the film being riddled with flaws, I do think the action is fun. Not necessarily strong, but there is a car chase scene between the government agents and the villain of our story, Agent Crown, that is completely thrilling. Through the streets of London, the car chase lasts around 15 minutes, with extended action before and after. This was the moment my interest began to peak. The climax of the film is nothing but action-packed, as Agent Crown tries to stop our agents from getting their hands on a flash drive with classified information about Starling. My favourite action moment involves a crane, and I think that is all I will say; leave something up to your imagination. 

I think my biggest issue with the film is that Krasinski does not convince me as Jack Ryan. I know Krasinski has been doing this franchise since 2018, but I found him to be very one-note throughout the course of Ghost War. I think he shows off his leading man abilities in A Quiet Place, but I do not know if this spy character works for him. I see him too much as an everyday man; that Prime pushing him to be this sex symbol just does not work. 

The supporting cast gives decent performances. Pierce and Beesley definitely are the ones to stand out with their unrelenting presence as they fight to bring one another down. Sienna Miller does well with what she is given. I do appreciate that Agent Marlow was an equal to the male characters and was not automatically a love interest for Jack. Side characters are abundant, though, so it can be a little confusing to keep everyone straight. 

Regardless of my criticisms, I do think Ghost War is a fun film to turn your brain off and throw on after a long day. You get everything you want from an espionage film, and you will most likely get to continue the story in season 5 of the series. With an open ending, Ghost War primes its audiences for a new season or sequel.

The film will be dropping on Prime Video on May 20th, so I highly encourage you to go seek out the film and make the final decision for yourself on whether or not Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War sticks out to you in the sea of espionage films.

🍿 SCORE = 58/100