Rogoway’s Reviews: Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan

Updated Jul 25, 2019 1:10 AM EDT

They say we live in a golden age of television and I can’t really argue with that. There is so much quality content being put out with the advent of streaming services, in addition to premium cable channels and a few highlights on basic cable, that it can be hard to know what series is worth investing your time into. But there was one show in development that I was particularly excited for—Amazon Video’s Jack Ryan .

Based on the characters from Tom Clancy’s brilliant books that inspired movies like Hunt For The Red October and Clear and Present Danger , Tom Clancy’s J ack Ryan seemed like one of the most logical high-end television reboots and one that could have immense staying power and versatility. With the right team of writers, it could also help us better reflect on the complex geopolitical realities of our increasingly chaotic world. And above all that, I’m just always down for a good spy thriller.

With all this in mind, I fired up the Amazon Video app on my television and dove into the eight-episode first season run of Jack Ryan . After the final episode’s credits rolled I was left flabbergasted, but for all the wrong reasons.

First off, let’s talk about the new Jack Ryan played by John Krasinski. Yes, Jim Halpert from The Office is now flexing his acting muscles as a CIA analyst turned action hero. The role has been held by four other players in the past: Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine. Every single one of these actors brought something different to the role, with the first two becoming legends in my mind and the others being far less memorable. Still, I really enjoyed every Jack Ryan movie aside from Shadow Recruit , which was lackluster and tried too hard to emulate the success of the Bourne Identity series of films.

Krasinski is a good actor who has a proven likable quality that spans both male and female audiences. We all know he can do comedy, but he can also do action, as proven in 13 Hours, a film I think was grossly underrated. In addition, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan premiered following what has been widely viewed as a total directing, producing, acting, and box office success for Krasinski in the form of the horror film A Quiet Place . So to call him a rising star with proven talent would be a big understatement.

So what does the long-hyped new show do with Krasinski’s unique mix of talents?

First off, they weigh him down with an overplayed and dour arch of an ex-Marine with PTSD. I am all for getting the horrors of this affliction out to the masses, but Tom Clancy’s

Jack Ryan does it with the finesse of a .50 caliber machine gun, not a sniper’s rifle. Instead of playing on Krasinski’s every-guy chops and ability to be subtly humorous—which are perfect attributes for the Jack Ryan role—he is assigned a surprisingly wooden character with all around low-quality material to work with. Still, at times Krasinski’s personality shines through the bullethole riddled script, and that’s not necessarily a good thing because it reminds us of what could have been.

And that theme runs through nearly every tangent of Jack Ryan season one. The entire show is derivative, uncreative, and mish-mashed, all while trying—but failing drastically—to exist on some higher narrative plane. Instead of a brilliant Jack Ryan whose analyst mind is his greatest weapon and fish-out-of-water set pieces, we get a soldier first Jack Ryan with the analyst thing goofily tagged on. The entire endeavor is far more brawn than brain and is packed full of writing choices that are so tropey that at some points you are left wondering if this thing was once written as a parody.

The places the show goes and what it does are totally familiar. Not just in terms of what we have seen in many past spy and action films, but also in what we have seen in very recent and laughably similar television—namely in a far superior show, Showtime’s Homeland . How on earth the writer’s room moved forward with these scripts without realizing major parts of them have already aired recently on a competing and well-established show is beyond me. It is jarring at times and wondering how exactly it happened totally takes you out of the story and especially the action sequences.

Even Wendell Pierce, who plays another (now) deeply troubled figure, James Greer—previously a jovial fan-favorite character who was famously played by James Earl Jones in earlier Jack Ryan films—seemed as lost in the script as his charter was lost in life. Pierce’s dialogue is full of snappy retorts and one-liners that seem strangely out of place and, at times, downright forced. Once again, the poor writing really casts a long shadow here, and frankly, it is below Pierce’s talents.

Even the origin stories of the major players are foolishly rushed. For instance, Jack goes from a mild-mannered economic analyst to taking on hardened terrorists in hand-to-hand combat in the first episode’s runtime. When Jack says his famous “I’m just an analyst” line, instead of being a pleading protest it becomes something of a wink to the audience as to just how stupid all this is.

The different plot streams that are supposedly interconnected—think Syriana , Babel , etc—are also so clumsily derived that they are nearly falling away from each other. The one with the drone pilot is so weak, played the hell out, and cheesy that it should have never made the final cut.

Another mistake was made by not giving this show a great intro, but the fact that there is next to no intro at all is jarring and odd in itself. Although this sounds like a nitpick, it really speaks to the production’s other strange choices and sets a cheap tone for the show as a first impression.

What’s most puzzling of all is that clearly, the opportunity here was to infuse a new style and really distinct narrative into the Jack Ryan universe that isn’t restricted by a movie’s runtime. Considering all the competition, a smarter spy thriller that was more grounded in tradecraft, geopolitics, current events, and most important, reality, than straight-up thrills—something even Homeland has increasingly struggled with—would have been truly exciting. This way, major action elements would really have stakes and could be handled with a realistic panache. Such a concept could have taken Jack Rya n to the next level and would have allowed it to compete in terms of quality in an increasingly crowded space.

Instead, we get an uncannily unoriginal and imitative series that seems to go out of its way not to use its talented players to anywhere near their inherent potential.

What a huge, blatant, and downright puzzling missed opportunity.

With all this said, I do actually think the show can be salvaged. It already has been renewed, so even with these issues, Amazon is doubling down by spending big bucks on another season, which is really quite remarkable considering how anemic season one was. The entire production needs to be retooled, and the writer’s room, in particular, needs a thorough flushing.

What comes next should be a team with a cohesive and unique vision, one that will use the over-the-top action hero stuff very wisely and sparingly. That team should also bring in advisors who have worked for The Agency and let their real experience help drive the narrative. It doesn’t have to be hyperrealistic , at times it can even be humorous, but in its current state, it has zero credibility in the realism department, which strays from Tom Clancy’s original vision.

And give the Middle Eastern-centric plots a break. There are plenty of other very interesting enemies to go after these days and not all bad guys have dark complextions and pray toward Mecca a few times a day. Above all else, allow the actors to play on the strengths and not wallow in their weaknesses. Also, why not look at a series/procedural format with some long-lead elements woven in that can be addressed in multi-episode arcs? Mix it up a little. This form of television is due for a high-end renaissance of sorts and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan may be a perfect vehicle to make that happen.

I don’t think you will find any bigger cheerleader for a television adaptation of Tom Clancy’s work than me, but Jack Ryan, in season one form, should serve as the guide of exactly how not to execute such a mission.

Rogoway’s review rating: 4.5G out of 9G

Tyler Rogoway/Author

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2019年7月25日凌晨1:10

人们常说我们生活在电视的黄金时代，我对此深表赞同。随着流媒体服务的兴起，以及付费有线电视频道和一些基础有线电视频道的精彩节目，大量优质内容涌现，让人难以抉择哪些剧集值得投入时间观看。不过，有一部正在制作中的剧集让我格外期待——亚马逊视频的《杰克·瑞恩》。

根据汤姆·克兰西的精彩小说改编，这部剧集曾被改编成《猎杀红色十月》和《燃眉追击》等电影，因此它似乎是最合乎逻辑的高端电视剧重启之作，而且极有可能拥有强大的生命力和广泛的受众群体。如果编剧团队足够优秀，它还能帮助我们更好地反思这个日益混乱的世界中错综复杂的地缘政治现实。最重要的是，我一直都很喜欢精彩的间谍惊悚剧。

考虑到这些，我在电视上打开了亚马逊视频应用，开始观看《杰克·瑞恩》第一季的八集。最后一集的片尾字幕结束后，我震惊不已，但原因却完全出乎我的意料。

首先，我们来聊聊约翰·卡拉辛斯基饰演的新版杰克·瑞恩。没错，《办公室》里的吉姆·哈尔珀特现在要大展演技，​​扮演一位从CIA分析师转型为动作英雄的角色了。此前，这个角色由四位演员扮演过：亚历克·鲍德温、哈里森·福特、本·阿弗莱克和克里斯·派恩。每位演员都为这个角色赋予了不同的诠释，前两位在我心中堪称传奇，而其他几位则略显逊色。不过，除了《谍影重重2》之外，我都很喜欢每一部杰克·瑞恩电影。《谍影重重2》平庸乏味，而且过于刻意地想要模仿《谍影重重》系列的成功。

克拉辛斯基是一位优秀的演员，他拥有男女观众都喜爱的魅力。我们都知道他能演喜剧，但他也能驾驭动作片，《13小时》就证明了这一点，我认为这部电影被严重低估了。此外，在克拉辛斯基执导、制片、主演并取得票房佳绩的恐怖片《寂静之地》之后，《汤姆·克兰西的杰克·瑞恩》上映。因此，称他为一颗冉冉升起的新星，并拥有如此卓越的才华，实在是远远低估了他。

那么，这部备受瞩目的新剧将如何展现克拉辛斯基独特的综合才能呢？

首先，他们用一种矫揉造作、阴郁沉重的创伤后应激障碍前海军陆战队员形象来塑造他。我完全赞成让大众了解这种疾病的可怕之处，但汤姆·克兰西的……

杰克·瑞恩的行动如同使用.50口径机枪一般精准，而非狙击步枪。克拉辛斯基的亲和力和幽默感——这些特质与杰克·瑞恩这个角色完美契合——本应得到充分发挥，但他却被赋予了一个出人意料的木讷角色，而且剧本本身也十分粗糙。尽管如此，克拉辛斯基的个人魅力有时还是会透过漏洞百出的剧本闪耀出来，但这未必是件好事，因为它让我们不禁感叹这部电影原本可以更加精彩。

而这个主题几乎贯穿了《杰克·瑞恩》第一季的每一个支线剧情。整部剧缺乏原创性，杂乱无章，却又试图——但最终彻底失败——达到某种更高的叙事高度。我们看到的不是一个才华横溢、拥有分析师般敏锐思维的杰克·瑞恩，也不是一个身处异乡却能游刃有余的奇特角色，而是一个先入为主的士兵杰克·瑞恩，分析师的身份被滑稽地附加在了他身上。整部剧充斥着蛮力而非智慧，剧本选择也俗套到令人发指，以至于你有时会怀疑这部剧最初是不是一部讽刺作品。

这部剧的剧情和桥段都似曾相识。不仅和以往的谍战动作片如出一辙，也和近期一些风格极其相似的电视剧如出一辙——尤其是远胜于它的Showtime剧集《国土安全》。我实在无法理解，编剧们究竟是如何在完全没意识到其中大部分内容已经在竞争对手的热门剧集中播出的情况下继续创作这些剧本的。这种反差有时令人感到突兀，而不断追问剧情究竟是如何重现的，更是让人完全无法投入到故事中，尤其是动作场面。

就连饰演詹姆斯·格里尔（James Greer）的温德尔·皮尔斯（Wendell Pierce）——这个角色如今也陷入了深深的困境——也显得像他所扮演的角色一样迷失在剧本中。格里尔此前曾是深受观众喜爱的阳光开朗的角色，由詹姆斯·厄尔·琼斯（James Earl Jones）在早期的杰克·瑞恩（Jack Ryan）系列电影中饰演。皮尔斯的台词充满了俏皮的反驳和妙语，但这些台词显得格格不入，有时甚至显得十分生硬。糟糕的剧本再次成为影片的一大败笔，坦白说，这样的剧本配不上皮尔斯的演技。

就连主要角色的背景故事都显得草率得令人匪夷所思。例如，杰克在第一集里就从一个温文尔雅的经济分析师摇身一变，成了与身经百战的恐怖分子肉搏。当杰克说出那句著名的“我只是个分析师”时，与其说是恳求，不如说是对观众的一种暗示，仿佛在告诉他们这一切有多么荒谬。

那些本应相互关联的不同剧情线——比如《辛瑞那》、《巴别塔》等等——衔接得如此生硬，几乎就要分崩离析。无人机飞行员那条线尤其糟糕，老套又俗气，根本不应该出现在最终版本里。

另一个失误在于没有给这部剧一个精彩的开场，但几乎没有开场本身就令人感到突兀和怪异。虽然这听起来像是吹毛求疵，但它确实反映了制作团队其他一些奇怪的选择，并给这部剧的第一印象定下了低劣的基调。

最令人费解的是，很明显，这次的机会在于为杰克·瑞恩宇宙注入一种全新的风格和真正独特的叙事方式，而不受电影时长的限制。考虑到激烈的竞争，一部更注重技巧、地缘政治、时事以及最重要的——现实——而非单纯追求刺激的谍战惊悚片（即使是《国土安全》也越来越难以做到这一点），将会真正令人兴奋。这样一来，主要的动作元素才会真正具有意义，并能以一种现实主义的风格来处理。这样的构想本可以将杰克·瑞恩系列提升到一个新的高度，使其能够在竞争日益激烈的市场中脱颖而出。

相反，我们看到的却是一部极其缺乏原创性且模仿痕迹明显的系列剧，它似乎刻意不去充分发挥其优秀球员的潜力。

多么巨大、多么明显、多么令人费解的错失良机啊！

综上所述，我确实认为这部剧还有挽救的余地。它已经续订了，所以即便存在这些问题，亚马逊仍然斥巨资制作新一季，考虑到第一季的糟糕表现，这确实令人难以置信。整个制作团队都需要重组，尤其是编剧团队，更需要彻底清洗。

接下来需要的是一个拥有凝聚力强且独具特色的愿景的团队，一个能够非常明智且谨慎地运用夸张动作英雄元素的团队。这个团队还应该邀请曾在“特工处”工作过的顾问加入，让他们的亲身经历来推动叙事发展。故事不必追求极致写实，有时甚至可以加入一些幽默元素，但就目前而言，它在现实主义方面毫无可信度，这与汤姆·克兰西的原著构想背道而驰。

别再老是拍中东题材的剧了。如今有很多其他非常有趣的反派角色值得挖掘，并非所有坏蛋都肤色黝黑，每天朝麦加祈祷好几次。最重要的是，要让演员们发挥自身优势，而不是沉溺于弱点。此外，为什么不尝试一下剧集/单元剧的形式，融入一些可以分多集展开的长线剧情呢？不妨尝试一些新的模式。这种类型的电视剧亟需一次高端复兴，《汤姆·克兰西的杰克·瑞恩》或许正是实现这一目标的完美载体。

我认为你找不到比我更热衷于将汤姆·克兰西的作品改编成电视剧的人了，但是《杰克·瑞恩》第一季的表现应该可以作为如何错误执行此类任务的指南。

Rogoway 的评分：4.5 分（满分 9 分）

泰勒·罗戈韦/作者

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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