Patriot Games

Based on the book by Tom Clancy, Patriot Games follows Harrison Ford’s Jack Ryan as he interferes with an attempted IRA assassination and is subsequently the object of revenge for one of the terrorists (Sean Bean’s Sean Miller). Patriot Games, though slightly overlong, generally comes off as a thoroughly engrossing and often impressively exciting thriller that benefits substantially from Ford’s charismatic, captivating performance, and there’s little doubt, as well, that filmmaker Phillip Noyce does an effective job of peppering the proceedings with a number of memorably thrilling sequences – with, for example, Miller and his associates’ initial efforts at taking out Ryan and his family possessing a gripping, edge-of-your-seat feel that ultimately stands as the picture’s high-water-mark. It’s clear, too, that Patriot Games‘ success is due in no small part to its intelligent screenplay and emphasis on Ryan’s methodical CIA-based exploits, while the proliferation of solid supporting performances only enhances the movie’s compulsively watchable atmosphere. And although the action-packed finale is perhaps a little too much in terms of plausibility, Patriot Games nevertheless comes off as a first-class adaptation that just might rank at the top of Jack Ryan’s cinematic adventures.

***1/2 out of ****