Customer Reviews

Patriot Games (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For sheer excitement on the edge of your not-so-easy chair, there's nothing like a good Jack Ryan story, and I think this is the best of them. The plot involves one of the most obsessed bad guys you'll ever see, a fanatically militant member of an IRA splinter group whose attack on the British royal family is thwarted almost unconsciously by Ryan, who is visiting England as a tourist/lecturer. Now ex-CIA, Ryan's family is nearby, and family is central in this tale of the cold-blooded world of international espionage and terrorism. The family angle is one that keeps the story so chilling throughout, as the terrorist's brother is shot to death by Ryan as he ruins their try on the royals, and our star villain then sets out to stalk Ryan and his wife and daughter.

The film moves at an almost perfect pace, and unveils to us some modern aspects of this shadowy world. For instance, even Ryan, played with understated perfection by Harrison Ford, is creeped out by his participation in a nighttime strike on a desert camp believed to be IRA training ground. In this scene he and several other jacket-and-tie types watch soldiers take out this nest of vipers a half-world away, thanks to infrared and satellite technology, all while detached voices calmly note "Target neutralized" and spies dressed like businessmen smile and nod while whispering to one another in thorough detachment from the blood and guts of the operation. All this technology and we are not removed from the days of the rich people perching on hills near the battles of Civil War days, sipping tea while viewing the entertainment.

I cannot give less than five stars to a film that draws me in so completely as this one, making me feel the tension with such clarity and indeed making it so easy to actually hate the villain. Yet the film strikes sour notes with the drunken Richard Harris's half-hearted performance as an IRA bigwig, and with the cliched ending moment of an otherwise superb boat chase at the film's climax. Two distracting moments would mean a score of 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, or, in Amazon terms, 4-1/2 stars. These being minor, a full five stars is quite reasonable. Nearly a perfect action film; even the understated music score is just so right that it can't be imagined being done any other way.

i won't say this is a horrible film,because it isn't.i just found it
boring for the most part.there are a few tense moments,and there is a
bit of action.this movie is more of a drama than anything,in my
mind.it's a Jack Ryan movie,with Harrison Ford playing Ryan.it's based
on the novel by Tom Clancy.the acting is good,and the characters are
okay,just don't expect too much character development in this
one.anyway,for whatever reason,i just didn't find this movie very
compelling.i don't think it translated too well from the page to the
screen.it will be quite awhile before i watch it again.i have seen a
lot worse,but i've also seen a lot better.my vote for "Patriot
Games": 2.5/5

I must admit to being disappointed in this version of the Clancy novel. Much as I like Harrison Ford, One can't help thinking Baldwin would have done a better job in portraying Ryan once again.

Sean Bean is eerily psychotic as Sean Miller - the man on an obsessive hunt for vengeance after the death of his brother at Ryan's hands, but there is an awful appearance by Richard Harris as a stereo-typical IRA man who forges an almost symbiotic relationship with Ryan.

Having said that, the end of the film is well-done and gripping - if you can manage to suspend belief that the security in place to protect the Ryans and their high-ranking visitor could possibly be so slap-dash.

In amazed disbelief at the previous critic who states that the IRA have done some 'good things', I am just sat here wondering what they could possibly be.

Perhaps he is thinking of the Warrington bomb - left randomly in a waste-bin in a crowded shopping centre? That had the distinction of killing two children.

Or perhaps the Omagh bombing? Scores of innocents died there, including a party of visiting Spanish schoolchildren.

Maybe the Rememberance Day parade at Inniskillen? Among the many Irish victims, I suppose the best known was an 18yr old Student Nurse.

Or the Harrods bomb, or the Hyde Park bomb, or the Chelsea Harbour bomb?

The knee-capping of young Irish men who refute the 'cause' or happen to disagree with them?

Could it be the weapons assistance and training with well-known Arab terrorist groups?

Or the solid refusal to lay down their arms and resort to the political process/ballot box in spite of the on-going Peace Process . . .

Just one or two of those 'good' things . . .

In many respects the film is an improvement upon the original book. The main plot remains fairly intact, but is greatly simplified. This makes the film much more accessible than the book, although purists will miss some of the endless details from the book. By having a minor member of the royal family as the target rather than Prince Charles the film is also more plausible and less cheesy.

Some individuals seem to feel that somehow the IRA is portrayed in a bad light. But it is scarely mentioned, as it is clearly stated that it is a splinter group not the the main branch or the terrorist organisation. Though admittedly one can draw fairly obvious comparisons in that both are vicious terrorist organisations willing to use violence against any who stand in their way. Those who seem to feel that the IRA are a noble bunch of freedom fighters might do well to look at the numbers and occupations of their victims. They include women and children as well as many other innocent bystanders and social undesirables in the view of the IRA. The unwillingness of Sinn Fein to place its faith in ballot box by disarming its supporters also illustrates the nature of the organisation.

Overall it is a good film, with impressive acting, special effects and a sound plot.

This is another one of Harrison Ford's greatest. I have always enjoyed his movies. There are not many real actors left out there that can really act, most just try to be as stupid acting as they can and think thats fine, well for some simple ones that is fine. This movie has a plot to it and was well made. Great movie.

Harrison Ford is the perfect Jack Ryan as he goes out to protect his family from IRA teorrist

Harrison Ford was a great choice to take over the role of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games. Ford has that everyman quality that works really well when he finds himself and his family (wife Anne Archer and daughter Thora Birch) thrust into international events when they witness an assassination attempt on a British royal. Ford thwarts the attempt, which makes his family revenge targets. The assassins, an Irish militant group, counts amongst its members, a hotheaded Sean Bean who makes it his mission to kill Ford, Archer, and Birch. But needless to say, Ford has other ideas!

Patriot Games is a well-crafted thriller from director Philip Noyce. He keeps the tension going from the beginning, mixing periodic bits of action into the drama that drive the film to its' climax. There's also a good mix of gadgetry and politics to spice the plot up as well.

Ford does a great job portraying the hero as a family man out to protect his loved ones. Archer is an ideal, classy wife, and Birch isn't the typically annoying or cute movie kid ... she's very likeable. Samuel L. Jackson is wasted in a smaller role as Ford's buddy, while Bean and Patrick Bergin make the most of their bad guy roles.

I've seen a lot of action films that have the heart stopping chases and intrigue, but Patriot Games is a step above them. It's a great combination of cast, director, story, and action, and it holds up to repeated viewings.

As with The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger, the production values of this film are outstanding. While visiting London with his family, Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) unexpectedly becomes involved with a failed attempt by renegade Irish terrorists to assassinate Lord Holmes (James Fox). Ryan is wounded while intervening, killing one of the assassins whose brother Sean (played by Sean Bean) is arrested, imprisoned, tried, and convicted. After he escapes during an ambush of the police van in which he is being transported, he vows to kill Ryan. After that, the plot stumbles and staggers through various disjointed episodes, some of which are visually stunning but few of which make much sense. For example, especially after the first attack on the World Trade Center and extensive violence in Northern Ireland in 1991, there is an almost total absence of appropriate security precautions throughout this film. How ludicrous, given the numerous and quite serious dangers in which Ryan and his family find themselves after Sean Miller's escape. Lord Holmes remains a high priority candidate for assassination whose safety is presumably of some interest to British and American authorities. Nonetheless, near the end of the film when he (one of the most visible of "The Royals") visits the United States and joins the Ryans for dinner in their home, he and they are essentially defenseless to terrorists who months ago vowed to kill them. The events which follow are even less plausible.

This film has a few effective moments but, on balance, is a disappointment. I would have preferred Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan and regret the waste of Anne Archer's talents. (Most of her time on screen as Dr. Cathy Ryan. she is either beaming with approval or wincing with apprehension.) The car chase and attempt on her life -- on a limited-access highway during rush hour! -- seem gratuitous, indeed strategically irrational, as does the earlier attempt on Ryan's life on a street in Annapolis. (Of course, he is alone and unprotected, thus vulnerable to everyone else on the same street as well as to passing cars. Dumb.) Surely more could be done with Ryan's friend and U.S. Naval Academy colleague Robby Freeman (Samuel L. Jackson). As for Richard Harris, he does the best he can with what is essentially a cartoon character, Paddy O'Neil. James Earl Jones reprises his role as Admiral James Greer, spending much of his time entering and leaving rooms. Whoever is responsible for such waste should be charged with criminal neglect.

To sum up, this film is consistently pleasant to look at. However, the plot seldom makes sense and the overall quality of acting is mediocre. Nonetheless, it has been a cash cow for Paramount and its producers so apparently others have a much higher regard for it than I do. Fair enough.

Order of the Purple Target. Gotta love that. I just wish they had got Sam Jackson to do others. It least they kept to a near outline of the book, but they still ignored a LOT of great subplots.

This movie has been critized for its portrayl of the IRA. I would have to say that it portrays the IRA fairly. The villians in this movie are not really the IRA, they are a ultra violent splinter group similiar to the type of organization that calls itself the "Real IRA", except that the splinter cell of Irish terrorists in this movie are even more violent than the "Real IRA" is in real life. The first time I watched this movie I was offended at how the Irish were treated but on viewing it again I realize that they were not treated unfairly. It is made clear in the film that most IRA members do not approve of the actions of the splinter cell or support them. In fact the splinter cell agents are at war with the "regular" IRA. The IRA and the splinter IRA terrorists are realistically portrayed. What is silly and unrealistic about this movie is the way the CIA and the British Intelligence services are portrayed. It is true that the IRA are not good guys, but neither are the CIA, or especially the SAS. The truth is that in real life the kind of people who are members of these types of organizations, (IRA, CIA, SAS, etc.) are all heartless killers. They have to be, that is their job. So I do not think that the way the IRA was portrayed was so different from reality but the way the CIA and the SAS was portayed borders on the cartoonish. The CIA and the SAS have both committed numerous atrocities as have the IRA. This movie should have demonstrated that the CIA is dirty. For instance see Clear and Present Danger by Clancy, that movie shows how the CIA really works. As for the British history of opression in Ireland, it is unspeakable and everyone knows it even if they do not admit it. That does not execuse some of the things the IRA has done but British atrocities should be taken into account. Anyway, on to the movie it is well done and fast paced, well directed, well acted, well written. Sean Bean is great as a the IRA terrorist. Harrison Ford is good as Jack Ryan. The music is also good. The action scenes are realistic but not violent enough, real shooting and death are much more gory. This movie was rated R, so why not run with it? The best scene in the movie was the hit on Ryan's family on the highway, the whole sequence was suspense packed. The terrorists getting stopped by the child serving as a crossing guard was a great touch. They were about to kill Ryan's wife and child when that little kid just stands in front of them with that stop sign. Even these hardened terrorists could not bring themselves to run over a bunch of innocent kids who had nothing to do with Ryan. After "Shawn Millar" shoots up Ryan's wife's car on the highway and it goes crashing into a divider and he says "They're gone" about as matter of factly as possible, really reveials what a cold blooded evil person he is. He is a great villian. When they invade Ryan's home with Night Vision googles is also a great climax, but I thought it a litte to much of a happy ending because not one person on Ryan's side gets killed. Still this movie is good and entertaining if a little to Patriotic for my tastes.