Way back in 1987, Tom Clancy published “Patriot Games,” a political thriller that introduced Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst and action hero, to the literary world. From that time until his death in 2013, Clancy saw his novels climb to the top of the New York Times bestseller list myriad times.
At last count the number of his books printed exceeded 50 million copies, and four of his novels made their way to the silver screen with Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine in the titular role respectively. After Clancy died, four authors approached the family estate and received permission to keep the Ryan saga alive. Thus, in addition to living on in more books, it was inevitable that he would ultimately appear on the small screen, and so we now have two seasons of Jack Ryan streaming on Amazon.
Season 1 made its debut on Aug. 31, 2018, starring John Krasinski as Jack working as a CIA analyst who discovers some possibly illegal bank transfers. When he looks into the matter, he ends up travelling through Europe and the Middle East on the trail of a terrorist planning to attack the United States and its allies. The first season was entertaining, and Krasinski was excellent in the lead role, but now let’s turn our attention to Season 2, which began streaming from Amazon on Nov. 1.
When we catch up with Jack in Season 2, we find that he no longer works for the CIA. Instead he has taken a job on Capitol Hill, where he’s serving as an adviser to Sen. Jim Moreno (Benito Martinez), a friend who has retired as a commander in the military to work in the world of politics. In a meeting after a social event in Moreno’s home, the senator tells Jack how the government has been keeping tabs on a mysterious ship that may be carrying Russian weapons to Syria. But somehow the vessel has ended up in Venezuela, where things are in turmoil because the president there, Nicolas Reyes (Jordi Molla), is facing the possibility of a coup.
Through a series of events too detailed to delineate here, Jack naturally goes to Venezuela, where he hooks up with his former boss, Jim Greer (Wendell Pierce). Together they encounter incredible obstacles as they attempt to find out about that strange ship and end up risking their lives in doing so.
I found Season 2 of the Ryan series much more exciting than Season 1 for several reasons. In the first place, the action scenes are absolutely mesmerizing, and I’m not talking about just the battles, in which it seemed as if about 4 billion rounds of ammunition were fired in a minute. Actually, the battle segments are outstanding, and some marvelous pyrotechnics complement them.
And the crowd scenes are amazing. While Jack and Jim are in Caracas trying to investigate that elusive ship, a war between the supporters of Reyes and his enemies is raging, and this conflict serves as the dangerous backdrop for Jack’s investigation. I have always been intrigued with films containing a lot of crowd action because I think they would be incredibly difficult to direct. The mob scenes in this show are as good as any I’ve ever watched.
This program also features some terrifically suspenseful scenes dealing with daring rescues of several key players, including Greer. Also, a lot of action occurs in the jungle, and all that’s missing from these is an encounter with a 40-foot snake.
The sets for the series are outstanding, and this is especially the case with the scenes in the palace where Reyes resides. I don’t know how many floors it had, but it seemed like 100 as Jack and his cohorts descended to the basement, which housed a prison.
Among the many other elements this series has to recommend is the fact that it has a big-screen look. As I was watching it, I never once had the feeling that I was watching a small-screen production.
Additionally, the acting is exceptional. Molla makes a sufficiently despicable and tyrannical Venezuelan president, and Pierce is characteristically wonderful as Greer, who has a love/hate relationship with Ryan. Their repartee offers some welcome comic relief at times.
Finally, I really like the personality that Krasinski brings to the character of Jack. He imbues him with a deceptive suavity that quickly disappears when he feels danger is near or when he is forced to defend himself. I think the role should be his for as long as he wants it, and the good news for all of us who are Jack fans is that production for Season 3 is already under way.
VIVA LA JACK!
