| PATRIOT GAMES | ||||
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| Released 1992 | 116 minutes | |||
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Setting: London, England and Maryland in the 1990s Main Characters: Jack Ryan, Cathy Ryan, Kevin O'Donnell, Sean Miller, Sally Ryan Contains violence, profanity, intense subject matter Produced by Paramount Pictures Based on the novel by Tom Clancy Screenplay by W. Peter Iliff, Donald Stewart, Tom Clancy Music: James Horner DVD Information: Widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio English and Spanish subtitles Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 Web Access Theatrical Trailer Special Categories: CIA Agents; Families; Terrorism; The IRA (Irish Republican Army); Thrillers; Revenge; Survival; Attempted Murder; Sequel to THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990) Followed by CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (1994) A third "Jack Ryan" novel by Tom Clancy, THE SUM OF ALL FEARS, has been published recently. Don't be surprised if it appears as a film in the near future. Box Office Gross: $79 million (as of August 7, 1992) Cost of Production: $43 million John Patrick Ryan (Harrison Ford), known as "Jack" to his family and friends, is a former Marine and CIA analyst vacationing in London with his wife, Cathy (Anne Archer), and their young daughter, Sally (Thora Birch). Not far from Buckingham Palace, the Ryans find themselves in the midst of a terrorist attack on members of the Royal Family. Outraged, Jack intervenes, saves Lord Holmes (James Fox), kills one terrorist, and wounds two others - and earns a bullet in the shoulder for his troubles. While recovering in the hospital, Jack learns that the terrorist he killed was 16 year old Patrick Miller, and that the other captured terrorist is Patrick's older brother, Sean (Sean Bean). Jack believes that he acted properly in the attack, but is haunted by the death of the boy he shot. Sean Miller is tried and convicted, but has sworn revenge for his brother's death. The Ryans return home to Maryland, believing they have left the whole matter behind them. The mastermind behind the Lord Holmes kidnapping attempt is Kevin O'Donnell (Patrick Bergin), a former PIRA (the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army) brigade commander whose ultra violent stance had alienated IRA leaders. He and his group rescue Sean Miller, and head toward a paramilitary training camp in North Africa. Miller, however, is determined to get revenge against Ryan. In a brutal attack on Ryan's family, Miller leaves Cathy and Sally critically injured. Heartbroken and bitter, Ryan returns to work at the CIA, using satellite photos in an attempt to locate O'Donnell's group in Africa. Meanwhile, Lord Holmes pays the Ryan home a visit on the day Sally is finally released from the hospital. Using inside information, O'Donnell and his commandos lay siege to the Ryan home, and only Jack's wits will be able to save his family. On the surface, PATRIOT GAMES is a simple action film in which a normally peaceful man fights to save his family. Judged on that level, the film is stunning and suspenseful, the characters well-written and well-played. The story is far more complex, however, and strikes to the very heart of the Irish - Anglo conflict in Northern Ireland (Ulster). Tom Clancy has obviously taken great care in researching his book, and his knowledge of the CIA and the international intelligence community have earned him the respect of that community, itself. He also makes an honest effort to deal fairly with the issue of violence in Northern Ireland, a political hotbed in both Europe and the United States for well over two decades. Two of the problems in translating a novel into a motion picture are time constraints on film (not a consideration in a book), and the necessity of creating visual action. In this case, what was lost most in translation were the character studies of those involved. Sean Miller, for instance, is described by Clancy as being a fanatical member of the extremist ULA (a fictitious paramilitary group that calls itself the Ulster Liberation Army - although Irish Republicans don't use the term "Ulster" when referring to Northern Ireland), who prides himself on his ability to separate his emotions from his work. On film, he simply becomes a hate filled psychopath who would murder his own comrades for the sake of revenge. (The dead brother angle was added solely to the film as motivational factor for Miller's actions.) And what about the others? Where does the hatred come from that would put an AK47 into the hands of a 16 year old? (Or into anyone's hands, for that matter.) For Northern Ireland, there are no simple questions and no simple answers. The conflict, in its current stage, has lasted for more that twenty years, and taken countless lives on both sides. The IRA, itself, was formed in 1919 to battle the British in the Irish War of Independence. Two major philosophical splits subsequently occurred. The first was in 1921, and precipitated the Irish Civil War. The second occurred in 1969, after British troops were sent in to quell the violence between Protestants (British loyalists) and Catholics (Irish unionists) in the Six Counties of Northern Ireland. The "official" wing (now absorbed into the Worker's Party) is strongly socialist (Marxist) in its beliefs and goals, while it is the "provisional" wing (the Provos) that is most infamous for acts of terrorism in the British Commonwealth. Both are committed to a united Ireland. Sociology aside, Harrison Ford is in his element in PATRIOT GAMES, playing not just an action hero, but a family man who is forced into violence to protect his family. Anne Archer is a sophisticated actress who promises to grow more beautiful with time, and Thora Birch is darling as the Ryans' precocious daughter. For those who haven't read Clancy's novel, the most frustrating scene in the movie comes at the end - is the Ryan's unborn baby a boy or a girl?! Do you really want to find out? Read the book. Both the film and book are highly recommended. "I don't think executives ever stopped thinking of me in terms of action adventures. But I kept turning them down because of their overweening violence and because they lacked ambition. I wanted to deal with ideas within the context of action. This one was a character driven story. It deals with a decent man's reaction to violence and the threat of danger to his family. I thought that you could make it into the kind of picture that I wanted to do." -- Harrison Ford, Entertainment Weekly, June 12, 1992 PATRIOT GAMES are NOT something made by Parker Brothers! HERE'S THE STORY: Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) is an ex-CIA man who, while visiting Buckingham Palace in London with his wife and little girl, inadvertently gets caught up in an assassination attempt by a group of terrorists on a member of the Royal Family. Ryan foils the attempt, but kills one of the assassins in the process. The murdered man's brother, who is also one of the assassins, cannot rest until his brother's death is avenged. Which means RYAN cannot rest until his own family is safe and the matter is settled, one way or another. WHAT TO EXPECT ... The impetus behind the story is political, but what makes this movie tick is the empathy the viewer has for Jack Ryan and his family. It seems to take a bit too long for the political backdrop to be established and for the revenge factor to be figured in, but once the terrorists appear in Ryan's hometown in Maryland to stalk his wife and daughter, the film really kicks into high tension. The suspense is gripping and taut, and the action is "white knuckle tense" when Ryan is in action defending his family. Even though it is sometimes confusing who is plotting against whom, or who is shooting whom, the momentum of the action still carries the tension forward, and you'll find yourself rooting with all your might for Ryan's family to make it through alive. THIS REVIEWER'S OPINION? - Give it a try. You may not care for the political overtones but you'll sidestep that quite easily as you get caught up in the plight of Jack Ryan and his family. |