Franchises are usually defined by the characters they feature or the worlds they take place in. Superman features Superman, The Matrix takes place in the Matrix. Obvious, right? But then you have Tom Clancy. Jack Ryan is the preeminent hero in his novels, but there are a couple of other supporting characters elevated to protagonist in later books. Tom Clancy’s name is also attached to various forms of media he might not have written but helped conceptualize. They’re part of the Tom Clancy brand, along with his books and their adaptations. This mega-franchise continues despite Clancy’s death. Whether he would’ve given his approval is no longer relevant. Any military or espionage property can carry the Tom Clancy label.
Clancy never envisioned Jack Ryan as the prototypical action hero. He’s a mild-mannered analyst who climbs up the ladder at the CIA before going into politics. Though Ryan is forced to kill some people in dangerous situations, he mostly leaves the field work to his operative, John Clark. But Jack Ryan has more name recognition, so, adaptations give him Clark’s attributes or place him in the middle of events, instead of sitting at his desk in Langley. It’s come to the point where Jack Ryan is fearlessly jumping off rooftops in Amazon’s ironically named Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, whereas book Jack Ryan can’t even go on a plane without anxiety.
Given that Amazon has morphed Ryan into Clark, it’s curious that the rights holders to Clancy’s work would decide to adapt the first John Clark novel, Without Remorse, a prequel set in the character’s youth during the Vietnam War, when he was a Navy SEAL named John Kelly. I haven’t heard anything about potential crossovers with the Amazon show, but it wouldn’t make sense for the movie to take place during Vietnam when the show is set in the present day. Whether or not this was part of the decision, the Without Remorse movie also takes place in the present day. This erases something unique. Vietnam movies have essentially disappeared in the last 20-some years. Seeing the book’s rescue mission would have been a throwback.
The movie ditches almost the entire novel, leaving only a few sparse plot points, such as Kelly’s quest for revenge. There is a logic in rewriting elements, as Kelly’s crusade against a drug and sex trafficking ring is too similar to The Punisher and 2014’s Equalizer to feel fresh. Unfortunately, the combo of new and old material isn’t better. The dead wife cliché is beyond overused (though it is in the book too). The film tries to create a grand conspiracy, but it isn’t anything you haven’t seen before. It starts with a mission Kelly goes on and escalates into payback targeting Kelly and his squad mates. That’s literally the premise of 24: Legacy. It wasn’t good then, and it’s not good now.
The ultimate reason behind the conspiracy, its execution, and its unraveling are done so half-heartedly that by the time the movie ends you’ll be asking, “That’s it?” The book isn’t Clancy’s best, but it has some compelling elements. Kelly goes to a much darker place than he does in the movie and it makes you question the morality of his actions (though one chapter in which Kelly tortures a drug dealer is almost too uncomfortable to read). The Without Remorse movie, on the other hand, holds back so much I thought the R rating listed on Amazon was a mistake. If this is what passes for R these days, we have a problem. How can the MPAA give Mortal Kombat and this the same rating? I’ve seen more violent PG-13 movies. There’s so little blood and only one instance of strong language. The only scene that maybe took it over the edge is when the villains hit Kelly’s squadmate with a car. The decreased violence completely betrays the source material and Kelly’s characterization.
Speaking of characters, Michael B. Jordan does fine as Kelly/Clark; he certainly lives up to his end of the bargain physically. Still, screenwriters Taylor Sheridan and Will Staples don’t give him enough to convey emotionally because so they cut so much, and some of the lines they do give him are embarrassing. Greer (Jodie Turner-Smith) is a completely different character; she’s James Greer’s niece. Ritter (Jamie Bell) also has a different relationship with Kelly than in the books. Lastly, Guy Pearce is in this movie and the role is beneath him. Overall, the acting and presentation make it feel like a made-for-streaming movie even though it was originally meant for theaters. If the budget is the reason for the look, the stale performances are director Stefano Sollima’s fault.
The mid-credits scene brings it all into perspective. The producers cared about setting up Rainbow Six more than this movie. They probably did this film because they didn’t want to upset fans and needed to introduce Clark. I’d rather they skipped the story altogether if they weren’t going to do it faithfully or replace it with something worthwhile.
If we’re going to get movies like Without Remorse, it might be time for the whole Tom Clancy franchise to end. The author is no longer around and the adapters clearly don’t care what he would have thought. They need to stop attaching his name to things he didn’t make, at least. Regardless, this movie does not give me hope for Rainbow Six.
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