Patriot Games (1992)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Bean, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergen, Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones, James Fox, and Richard Harris
Grade: A

I know what you’re thinking, “Samuel L. Jackson is in this too”? Of course he is! He’s in everything!

Summary

While in London, England on a semi-vacation, former CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Ford) is hanging with his wife Cathy (Archer) and his daughter Sally (Thora Birch) in their hotel room. After Sally wins a rousing game of Monopoly, they put her to bed. Following this, Cathy orders some champagne and such to their room, and her and Jack get intimate. The next morning, Jack gives a speech to the Royal Naval Academy. Later, following a parade for the British Minister of State for Northern Ireland Lord William Holmes (Fox) and his family, four supposed members of the IRA plan an assassination attempt. The mission is led by Kevin O’Donnell (Patrick Bergen), Sean Miller (Bean), and Sean’s brother Paddy. As Holmes’s car drives by and Jack Ryan’s family is on the opposite street walking towards Jack, Sean’s plan goes into action. They put on their ski masks, drive their car in the way of Holmes’s forcing him to stop, and they start shooting. Initially a bystander, Jack goes and protects his family first. After having them lay down behind a car, Jack jumps into the action. He takes the group down and thwarts their assassination attempt in its tracks. Though he is shot, he is able to shoot one of the guys and kills Sean’s brother Paddy. The other members of the IRA escape, but Sean is taken into custody. As he’s being arrested, Sean’s eyes meet Jack’s, and he doesn’t blink. Being a doctor, Cathy treats Jack’s wounds immediately, and he’s eventually rushed to an undisclosed London hospital in guarded condition.

Jack’s heroic act is posted all over the news. CIA officials in Langley, Virginia, who are familiar with Jack take notice including Admiral James Greer (Jones) and Marty Cantor (J.E. Freeman). In prison, Sean is interrogated but doesn’t say a single word to the cops or Inspector Robert Highland (David Threlfall). They try to bait him by pointing out how the other members of his group left him. In addition, they question how Sean knew Holmes would be at this spot because the trip was unscheduled, though he still says nothing. Elsewhere, Kevin O’Donnell insists to some guy named Jimmy that Sean will never talk to the police, though Jimmy is angered by Kevin going after the royal family because it only turns people against them. After he’s interrupted because of eye contact he makes with some red-haired woman (Polly Walker), Jimmy explains that this mission was totally unauthorized by the IRA and the other brigade commanders know Kevin was behind it. Without flinching, Kevin retorts, “Fuck the bloody IRA” and goes on about how they’ve been fucking up lately. The heart of England is still a monarchy, so he sees targeting the royal family and the ruling class as the way to make a difference. He tells Jimmy he’s either with him or against him, so Jimmy says he’s with Kevin and this subgroup. Next, Jimmy tells Kevin that Charlie is going to drop by that night to “straighten things out” with Kevin. Promising to be smart and to hold his temper with Charlie, Kevin leaves, allowing for Jimmy to pursue the red-haired woman at the bar. He takes off his wedding ring and heads over.

That night, Charlie and his group show up to Kevin’s house to kill him, but Kevin sees it coming and kills all of them. Meanwhile, the red-haired woman turns out to be working with/dating Kevin, and she kills Jimmy.

Also, she doesn’t even have red hair! It’s a wig!

In the hospital, Jack Ryan identifies Sean Miller and his brother for the authorities by looking at their mugshots, though Highland is very short with Jack for some odd reason. Later, Jack and Cathy meet with principal private secretary to Lord Holmes in Jeffrey Watkins (Hugh Fraser). As they talk, Lord Holmes shows up to thank Ryan for saving his life and says he will be knighted for his actions. At Sean’s trial, Jack is practically interrogated by Sean’s douchebag lawyer, who has the audacity to argue that Sean was an innocent bystander in the situation trying to help. After he’s asked under oath if he still works for the CIA, Ryan says he doesn’t and leaves the stand. Once he walks away, Sean berates Jack in front of the courtroom and almost attacks him for killing his brother. Thankfully, Sean is pulled away. Following the trial, Jack and his family go back home. Soon after getting settled, Cathy reveals she’s pregnant. Afterwards, they see politician and Sinn Fein representative Paddy O’Neil (Harris) on TV explaining that the incident in London wasn’t orchestrated by the IRA because they admit to whatever they do. It’s part of their policy. Jack shuts off the TV in disgust. In prison, Sean stares at pictures of Jack in newspaper headlines. Next, we cut to some bookstore. This is where Annette (the “red-haired” girl from earlier) approaches owner Mr. Cooley (Alex Norton) about a book. She came about this first edition book at an estate auction and asks for Cooley’s guy to restore it. However, this is just a setup for citizens in the store. The book she gives him contains a written plan on the inside about busting Sean out of prison because Cooley has the hookup to help them. He’s not so sure he can pull it off in the quick fashion she wants, but he’s pressured into trying by her.

Later that night, Sean is being transported in a prison van by Highland and two constables to Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. They are about to cross the bridge but are stopped because of some technical difficulties. Then, explosions start coming from everywhere. They’re under attack by Kevin and his crew, who have the bridge keeper at gunpoint. Kevin demands they open the van’s backdoor, and Highland relents. One constable is immediately shot, and the other cop and Highland are thrown on the pavement, with Kevin freeing Sean of his cuffs. Kevin accuses Highland of turning on his own people and hands his gun to Sean, who kills Highland and the other cop.

Back at Ryan’s home, Admiral Greer and Marty Cantor show up and ask to speak to him privately. Right away, Cathy doesn’t look too happy. Greer and Cantor tell him about Sean’s recent escape, how it was in Kent near the channel, and it’s technically possible he fled the country to come after Jack. Even so, Greer argues that the chances of Sean getting all the way to Jack are very low. Jack points out that Greer’s first instinct in coming out here to tell him this argues the opposite. Realizing Jack is seeing through the bullshit, Greer has Marty leave the room. Then, he asks Jack if he wants to come down to take a look at what they have, which Jack sees as Greer asking him if he wants to come back to the CIA and he’s right. Nonetheless, he turns Greer down and tells the relieved Cathy after of the conversation and how he’s not going back to the agency. On a boat in the ocean somewhere, Kevin, Annette, and the crew discuss building an army and how they can’t do it in Ireland. They also talk about the importance of a second attack on Lord Holmes until every Irish political prisoner is released, but Sean still has his mind on Jack, despite Kevin telling him to get over it. Meanwhile, Holmes talks with Watkins and Sergeant Owens (Alun Armstrong) about the news of Sean’s escape and Highland’s death. Basically, they come to the conclusion there is a traitor somewhere in Holmes’s staff because it’s the only explanation for the assassination attempt getting that close on an unscheduled route. They have narrowed it down to 31 people who had prior knowledge of Holmes’s itinerary the day of the attack and of Sean’s transfer.

Five of them are now dead.

At the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Ryan’s lecture is interrupted by Lt. Commander Robby Jackson (Jackson), who awards him the “Order of the Purple Target”, a special medal because of his heroic act. At the same time, Cathy performs surgery on someone at the hospital. Privately Lt. Jackson and Ryan talk in Jackson’s office about what happened in London. Jack tries to act like he wasn’t thinking and just acted, but he admits that watching the incident live pissed him off. He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. Honestly, “It was…rage…pure rage. It just made me mad”. Later, Sally is waiting outside of her school, ready to be picked up. In a van nearby, Sean waits with one of his cohorts. After Cathy picks up Sally, they follow. Meanwhile, Jack leaves the Academy to go home. As he walks to his car, he sees a suspicious character ahead of him but tries to pass it off as nothing. Walking further, he notices the man following him and realizes it’s on. Springing into action, Jack gets behind a truck to fool the guy and sneak attacks him. After a scuffle, the man is shot down by members of the Academy. As this happens, Annette, wearing the red-haired wig again, drives by in a hurry. Now, Jack knows Sean is here and is after him. Jack tries to interrogate the man who was shot, but he dies without saying a word. Jack gets to his car and drives off, frantically calling Cathy on his car phone. She doesn’t answer initially because she uses her car phone to call the office, asking for the results of a retinal scan as she gets on the highway. Still in hot pursuit is an armed Sean. Finally, Ryan is able to reach Cathy on the phone after everything. He tells her to get off the highway and to the nearest police station immediately, where he will meet her.

She listens and notices Sean right after this, who starts firing his machine gun at her and into traffic. The car is hit, and she runs into another, crashing directly into the junction. On the highway as well, Jack sees the smoke from a distance and knows it’s his family. They’re immediately airlifted to a hospital. At the hospital, Jack is informed that Cathy and Sally are both still alive. Cathy got a concussion, but the baby is fine. However, Sally suffered some serious injuries and her spleen had to be removed.

Well, good job Sean. You’ve pissed off Jack Ryan. This is something you do not want to do. Now, Jack is rejoining the CIA and he’s coming after that son of a bitch.

My Thoughts:

And just like that, Harrison Ford beats Alec Baldwin in every category. Not only does Ford become the best version of Jack Ryan in an instant, but Patriot Games is in the conversation for the best film of the entire franchise. Its only competitor is the other Ford-led Jack Ryan film in Clear and Present Danger. Though Tom Clancy purists may not be too happy with how much it strays away from the novel, this revenge thriller is exactly what the series needed to redirect course from a cinematic perspective. Plus, the book was over 700 pages long. Sometimes, you have to adjust to keep things fresh, exciting, and consistently entertaining when adapting a book into a blockbuster. Every so often, you have to sacrifice bits and pieces of book accuracy to create a worthwhile film, and Patriot Games is a perfect example of this.

It’s well known how much I adore action hero cinema, and it’s no secret that Harrison Ford is one of the best of all time at playing the beloved role so crucial to the often-criticized genre. Despite being a middle-aged Jack Ryan well into family life and not thinking about the CIA anymore, the first act gives us a hero moment that can’t be ignored, establishing Ford’s take on the character with force. Even though we open with a slow pace as Jack hangs with his family and we see him do some speech, it’s all by design to try and throw us off. Though it presents to us an older version of our protagonist to show how he’s much different this time around compared to the previous incarnation of the character, it sets us up for the Jack Ryan we came to see. Seeing an assassination attempt in front of his very eyes, he instinctively gets involved to stop it in process to save others. This is how you write a natural born hero. In the viewers’ eyes, it solidifies the character of Jack Ryan. Alec Baldwin’s Jack never had this moment in The Hunt for Red October, which is why he failed in the role. In Patriot Games, Jack could have avoided the events of this movie entirely had he just minded his business, but that’s not who he is. He has to do what he thinks is right.

When they see an unclear picture of what could be Annette at one of the camps they’ve been spying on in Libya, Jack is asked by Greer if he thinks it’s her because they could decimate the camp in two minutes. Though his hypothesis is more than likely correct, he can’t bring himself to give the go-ahead because it wouldn’t be right without a confirmation. He’s knows he’s right, but he can’t act without direct or more clear evidence. This is what separates Jack Ryan from most other movie heroes. Even with revenge on the mind, he doesn’t let it blind his job as an analyst and backs down until they come up with something more concrete because it’s the right thing to do. Even when they observe via satellite the destruction of the camp and take out these terrorists, the violence of the act still stays with Jack, and it’s clear he’s emotionally affected by it. That is Jack Ryan.

In the case of the attempt on Lord Holmes’s life, Jack obviously cares about his family (and in his defense, he makes sure they’re okay before he acts), but he can’t sit there and watch an assassination attempt in front of his face knowing he could do something to stop it. It actually bothers him. When he’s talking to Lt. Jackson in private, he admits that just seeing this act of evil in front of him genuinely pissed him off. It forced his hand. This is what separates a bystander from a hero, and why you can’t help but agree with the accolades the character receives for his actions when he could have been killed himself. Most people would run away at the sight of a group of masked men with weapons firing at a politician but not Jack. Though he is retired, his family is across the fucking street, and he has no interest in field work, you can see the fire in his eyes when watching an unjust act in front of him. This is the mark of a true hero and why Jack Ryan becomes one of our favorite protagonists in general because of Harrison Ford’s believability as the star. When Ford’s Jack talks about how it brought out the rage within him, we are drawn in. A true hero never loses his or her spirit. As one gets older though, the drive starts to get buried. However, all the person in question needs is enough motivation for this spirit to rise again from the ashes. This is why an older Jack Ryan works in this adaption of Patriot Games. In the novel, it’s a young Jack, but they had to age the character with Ford since he was 49 at the time that he took over the role. Even so, Ford is fantastic.

There’s no better choice to equally portray the traits of an action hero, an intelligent analyst, a family man, and an all-around good guy than Harrison Ford, especially in the 1990s. Based off of what we know about the character, his motivations, the situations he finds himself in, and how he is able to beat the odds more often than not, you couldn’t pick a better person to play the role during this time period. Even after all these years and all of these other actors trying to make the role their own, Harrison Ford is the Jack Ryan. The only person who comes close is surprisingly John Krasinski. According to Krasinski himself though, it should come as no surprise that he based his performance on Ford.

Hey, at least he knew to study the right guy.

On top of that, there are so many other badass moments that further add to Jack Ryan’s legacy in franchise lore because of this movie alone. Not even flinching when Sean Miller yells at him face to face during the trial, in front of everyone mind you, struck me as powerful. It’s not that Jack is fearless, but he refuses to look fearful to someone he considers evil. A singular moment like this adds a lot of depth to the character by just action and expression, with not a single word spoken by Jack during the confrontation. It’s understated but very powerful. Threatening to go to the news with Sally’s injury to Paddy at the bar while in Ireland not only shows his balls but his desperation as well. He’s willing to do anything now that Sean has hurt his family, and this feeling resonates with the audience because of Ford’s ferocity in the scene as he promises to “fucking destroy” Paddy. Jack’s refusal to back down in a place where he’s outnumbered and on the verge of causing an issue is a father ready to take action at all costs. You love to see it, and very few do it better than Ford.

We’ve seen so many revenge thrillers over the years, and most of them are fairly similar. It kind of comes with the territory when we talk about action cinema because there’s only so many routes you can take. Patriot Games falls into the less-used subcategory of the villain losing someone instead of the hero, causing him to be the one going on a rampage and doing everything he can to exact revenge. When you add in the side story of a sub faction within the IRA, you get a cool twist on the political side of things, which bodes well for the analyzation scenes in the offices of the CIA. What’s funny is how much in-fighting between the villains is going on. The IRA doesn’t like the sub faction led by Kevin, and Kevin is trying to keep the group focused on the bigger picture, despite Sean’s motivations for killing Jack Ryan having nothing to do with their goals and mucking things up. There are a lot of layers at hand to make this more than what could have been your typical CIA thriller. It’s what makes this a Jack Ryan picture and not a Liam Neeson action vehicle. Also, this is the first movie in the Ryanverse to really capture the intelligent mind of Jack at work as he’s trying to capture the bad guy. In The Hunt for Red October, he’s working on a hunch, but they barely scratch the surface on how good of an analyst Jack Ryan is. Though Patriot Games isn’t the go-to example, it’s yet another instance of correcting the course.

Perennial bad guy actor Sean Bean does a great job as the rogue IRA member whose obsession with Jack Ryan drives the plot of the film. Constantly, we talk about Sean Bean and his penchant for being cast as a villain, but he doesn’t get enough credit for being that good at doing it in so many different ways. Sometimes, you have to go with what works, and Sean Bean is one of the best at it. It also has given him a lot of opportunities that he would have never gotten otherwise if he wasn’t okay with being an antagonist. In one lifetime, this guy has fought James Bond, Jack Ryan, and Nicolas Cage. Honestly, that’s pretty awesome. Though he’s 0-3, he puts out a solid performance every time. Specifically in Patriot Games though, his motivation is warranted. You might ask yourself during the runtime, “Can’t this guy just get over it?”. Doesn’t he have more important things to worry about like training with terrorists in North Africa or attacking Holmes again like how Kevin wants? This group has ties with Kaddafi! The freighter Sean and the group escaped Ireland on docked in Benghazi! His fellow faction members all tell him to get over it, but he can’t. Did you see his face when they’re training in Libya, and he’s told the Ryan family survived his attacks? When he tries a different tactic and calls Jack’s house to talk shit, you realize how much of a different animal Sean is compared to his cohorts. He’s incensed. For the record, this is a guy who shot his parish priest during confession in Derry. Think about all of the other action movies you’ve seen with similar revenge plots revolving around the hero. Oh, how the tables have turned now that the bad guy wants revenge for his brother dying. Funny how the audience’s viewpoint changes when the shoe is on the other foot.

Regardless, this never-ending quest for vengeance that ignites Jack’s passion for the same because of Sean’s doing puts them on a collision course, and it sets up an exhilarating showdown in the finale that makes the buildup absolutely worth it. If you want another example of a movie doing it better than the novel, the boat chase is this exactly. On a side note, the supporting cast is very good, but considering the star power, you do wish they could’ve gotten more screen time. Samuel L. Jackson is a prime example of this. Even in a limited capacity though, James Earl Jones does another great job as the voice of reason. The man has presence. You can’t deny this. Richard Harris also did a notable job in a small role. The scene in which he silently gifted Jack the information spoke volumes for the character and the movie as a whole. Only Jack Ryan could garner that much respect from someone who has no reason to help him.

*Three actors play characters who have the same name as them. Sean Bean plays Sean Miller, Samuel L. Jackson plays Robby Jackson, and James Earl Jones plays James Greer. Is this not weird as hell? One actor having this coincidence happens all the time, but three? This is rare enough that I felt it had to be mentioned.*

The Jack Ryan franchise is an underrated one. If you want to know how good they are before you watch them, it coincides with the actor who stars. My scale is pretty accurate.

Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October– Ehh…

Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger– Very Good

Ben Affleck in The Sum of all Fears– Solid

Chris Pine in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit– Better than I thought.

Taking Amazon’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan out of the equation because it’s a television show, this is the essential breakdown of the franchise. When you look at the films, Patriot Games is arguably the best one.

Fun Fact: Alec Baldwin was originally set to reprise his role as Jack Ryan but already committed to A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway after filming was delayed for two months. Though he later said he was basically strong-armed into the decision to choose between the two and to agree to an open-ended clause relating to dates for the first sequel. He also claims this ultimatum was brought up once Ford expressed interest in the role of Jack Ryan. John McTiernan was originally set to direct the first sequel coming out of The Hunt for Red October, but he wanted to do Clear and Present Danger. Once the studio decided it would be Patriot Games, he dropped out because of his Irish-American background.