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Dom Robinson reviews
Paramount
- Cert:
- Cat.no: PHE 8019
- Running time: 135 minutes
- Year: 1994
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 23 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English, Hungarian, Polish
- Subtitles: 5 languages available
- Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Theatrical Trailer
Director:
- Philip Noyce
(Clear and Present Danger, Dead Calm, Heatwave, Patriot Games, The Saint, Sliver)
Producers:
- Mace Neufield and Robert Rehme
Screenplay:
- Donald Stewart, Steven Zaillian and John Milius (based on the novel by Tom Clancy)
Music:
- James Horner
Cast:
- Jack Ryan: Harrison Ford
John Clark: Willem Dafoe
Cathy Ryan: Anne Archer
Felix Cortez: Joaquim de Almeida
Admiral Greer: James Earl Jones
Robert Ritter: Henry Czerny
James Cutter: Harris Yulin
President Bennett: Donald Moffat
Ernesto Escobedo: Miguel Sandoval
Sally Ryan: Thora Birch
It’s a boy.That’s the answer to the query at the end of the last film, as those of uswho choose to ignore best-selling books and wait for the theatrical releasehad to wait two years for.
After one of the President’s (Donald Moffat) friends has been murderedand Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones) has become ill, Jack Ryan(Harrison Ford) is made acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence.Along with the pay rise comes the extra responsibility and as the Pres’ buddywas a well-known businessman and had links to Colombian drug cartels, Jackhas to go and investigate.
However, he’s on a need-to-know basis and the CIA, including Robert Ritter(Henry Czerny), aren’t telling him much, particularly the fact thatexpert field operative John Clark (Willem Dafoe) has started the crusadeagainst the drug lords.
One of the film’s key scenes, an ambush in which a convoy of vans containingRyan and his men are targeted by rocket launchers, makes our hero moredetermined than ever to fight for truth, justice and the good ol’ American way.This government thing goes all the way up to the President and if truth meansexposing the authorities for all their (not so much) worth, then so be it.
It’s interesting to note that the “how dare you” exchange between Ryan andthe President was reversed for the trailer, with Ryan made to seem more heroicin the summary by getting his in last.
Of the Jack Ryan trilogy, the print here is the best of all, with minimalartifacts and crisp, clear pictures. We can also take for granted theanamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.The average bitrate is 7.10Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 9Mb/s.
English dialogue is again available in Dolby Digital 5.1, which gets manychances to shine, particularly for the sweeping rear-action of those launchedrocket. The Hungarians and Polish, though, are left with mono.
Extras :
Same as last time, a two-and-a-half minute Theatrical Trailerand an extra chapter: 23 instead of 22.
Subtitles are available in English (and hard of hearing), Danish, Finnish,Norwegian and Swedish. The menus are all static and silent.
If you likedPatriot Gamesthen you’ll like this, but if that’s the case, chances are you’ll already haveseen it. I think a Jack Ryan boxset would have been a good idea, to a similarprice as Momentum Pictures’ forthcoming Rambo Trilogy boxset, pricedat £49.99, saving a tenner on the individual discs.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.