The Sum of all Fears

[Scott]

Just viewed THE SUM OF ALL FEARS on DVD. Very good film about a facist who brings the US and Russia against each other buy using nuclear weapon in Baltimore. Makes you think how easy this could become one day.

[Neville]

I expected it to be pretty bad, so it was a pleasant surprise for me. Now, if they had edited out the horrible romantic interludes and the Jack Ryan  speech to the russian president, it would have been much better. One aspect I really liked is that the people who were about to throw the missiles (on both sides) were not a bunch of hysterical idiots, but professional people who took what they thought it was the right option with the info they had received. Quite believable.

Just a question: Why the hell were the russians the ones who had to retire if there were the USA the ones who were more prone to push the button? Quite stupid thing if you ask me.

[Foywonder]

I thought everything up until the bomb going off was pretty good, but after that it all just fell apart. One of the biggest problems was all the tension between the US and Russia may have been relevent when the book was written but was not by the time they got around to making the movie.

[John]

>buy using nuclear weapon in Baltimore. Makes you think how easy this could
>become one day

 Experts have said that it's not a matter of IF a nuclear weapon will be detonated on US soil, but WHEN. :(

[Creepozoid]

Aside from a horrible casting flaw (you know the one) and pointless romantic interludes (drew up painful memories of PEARL HARBOR for me) this was quite good.

[J.R.]

<>

I've often thought about this. Imagine if Saddam Hussein or some other such tyrant had a nuclear weapon and attacked America. It would be 9/11 times a thousand. There would be nothing on TV for a year!!!

And to Foywonder-

In the original novel the villains were Middle Eastern terrorists. This was changed for political correctness. Also, remember what happened to The Siege after all the bad press concerning its Middle Eastern baddies? It's funny; there are Middle Eastern terrorists out there and they have attacked America but suggest that this is the truth in a movie and a controversy erupts.

[Dano]

Quite believable???  Let me quote an extra in the film:

"The wind has taken most of the radiation out to sea."

Um, yeah.  I guess that's why Jack could go tooling around ground zero looking for clues and then father two children in subsequent movies.  

Other things I learned from this movie:

- One junior CIA analyst is assigned to the entire Russian leadership account.

- The president attends the Super Bowl.

- If the US wanted to strike Murmansk, they'd use our lightest, shortest range fighters (F-16s)... Oh yeah, in broad daylight.

- Anyone wanting to take over Europe would see the nuclear annihilation of the northern hemisphere as an important first step.

- Walking out of Sum of All Fears with 20 minutes left in the movie will leave you with no regrets or curiosity about how it ends.

[Foywonder]

Yes, I know about the change in villains, but unless I'm mistaken, it was still a matter of trying to get Russia & America to go to war which, again, is outdated in 2002.

[J.R.]

Another weird thing is that Jack Ryan is a young CIA upstart, which should make it a prequel, but it's set in 2002. This is one of those movies that I hope got it wrong. God help us if our government would actually react to a nuclear threat like that.

[Squishy]

They should have just let this one be, with the seriously-dated plot and so forth--but if Clancy writes two words on a napkin these days, it's going to be made into a $200 million blockbuster, come Hell or high water. (Well, maybe not the one with the kamikaze airliner attack on Washington...)

"If hero you are, harm you not fallout will."
--Yoda's ugly brother Clem

Bender aims a powerful X-ray-type device at Fry.
Fry: "Ow!!! My sperm!!"
Bender zaps him again with it.
Fry: "Hm. Didn't feel a thing that time!"
--"Futurama"

[Scott]

What concept are you saying is out dated? The facist part or the US vs Russia part?

[Creepozoid]

- The president attends the Super Bowl.

Why can't he?

[Dano]

The Prez can attend the Super Bowl... but he never does because of the security nightmare that it would entail.  The NFL probably asks that he doesn't come because it would be a distraction and disrupt the stands with press and secret service

[Chris K.]

THE SUM OF ALL FEARS could have worked, but unfortunately Ben Afleck manages to screw it up with his untalented acting and poor actions. Thank God Morgan Freeman was able to pull a better performace. But even then, I do agree that the storyline of America vs. Russia is too dated (this stuff was in the earlier James Bond flicks, and even so looking at them today it is very embarassing to take).

Also, because of taking out the original intent of the film (i.e. Clancy's novel involved Middle Eastern terrorists, but was changed due to the 9/11 incident) just goes to show that America needs that "political correctness" to make our movies better (ha!). Sadly, it just ruins what would have been a powerful film and thought provoking as well.

As for Tom Clancy's work, here is a delightful quote that I use to describe his novels: "Having a Tom Clancy book thrown at you is less painful than reading it"- Sideshow Bob, THE SIMPSONS

[Dano]

Chris K.:  As for Tom Clancy's work, here is a delightful quote that I use to describe his novels: "Having a Tom Clancy book thrown at you is less painful than reading it"- Sideshow Bob, THE SIMPSONS

*****  Amen.  His dialogue (especially in romantic situations) is enough to make you squirm.  Cornball factor of ten.  Also don't believe the crap you hear about what an expert he is.  He knows his naval stuff very well, but beyond that, he seems to pull most of his information out of outdated Janes' encyclopedias and the History Channel.  His stuff on Desert Storm is a joke.  I'm not anti-military by any stretch, but Clancy's just a sycophant... and he does it so they give him access.