Widescreen/ Blu-Ray. Rated R. Ex-CIA agent Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) is forced back into service when he saves the lives of the English minister to Northern Ireland and his family from a terrorist attack, killing one of the perpetrators in the process. The dead man's brother, also a member of an IRA splinter faction, vows revenge on Ryan and his family and pursues them to the United States. Ryan knows it is only a matter of time till he comes face to face with his nemesis... and that only one of them will come out alive. Based on Tom Clancy's bestselling novel.

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The direction of this film is particularly good. The artistic direction, effectively combined with the haunting, wistful, musical score make this film unforgettable, and several cuts above the usual political thriller. This is a thoughtful, intelligent film but nevertheless contains plenty of fast-paced action. The plot moves smartly, but never features action just for the sake of action.

This is a film that most viewers will enjoy many times.

19 of 21 found the following review helpful:

Slasher films a poor substituteJul 20, 2004
By Brian Hulett "okierazorbacker2"
For sheer excitement on the edge of your not-so-easy chair, there's nothing like a good Jack Ryan story, and I think this is the best of them. The plot involves one of the most obsessed bad guys you'll ever see, a fanatically militant member of an IRA splinter group whose attack on the British royal family is thwarted almost unconsciously by Ryan, who is visiting England as a tourist/lecturer. Now ex-CIA, Ryan's family is nearby, and family is central in this tale of the cold-blooded world of international espionage and terrorism. The family angle is one that keeps the story so chilling throughout, as the terrorist's brother is shot to death by Ryan as he ruins their try on the royals, and our star villain then sets out to stalk Ryan and his wife and daughter.

The film moves at an almost perfect pace, and unveils to us some modern aspects of this shadowy world. For instance, even Ryan, played with understated perfection by Harrison Ford, is creeped out by his participation in a nighttime strike on a desert camp believed to be IRA training ground. In this scene he and several other jacket-and-tie types watch soldiers take out this nest of vipers a half-world away, thanks to infrared and satellite technology, all while detached voices calmly note "Target neutralized" and spies dressed like businessmen smile and nod while whispering to one another in thorough detachment from the blood and guts of the operation. All this technology and we are not removed from the days of the rich people perching on hills near the battles of Civil War days, sipping tea while viewing the entertainment.

I cannot give less than five stars to a film that draws me in so completely as this one, making me feel the tension with such clarity and indeed making it so easy to actually hate the villain. Yet the film strikes sour notes with the drunken Richard Harris's half-hearted performance as an IRA bigwig, and with the cliched ending moment of an otherwise superb boat chase at the film's climax. Two distracting moments would mean a score of 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, or, in Amazon terms, 4-1/2 stars. These being minor, a full five stars is quite reasonable. Nearly a perfect action film; even the understated music score is just so right that it can't be imagined being done any other way.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Flashes of light?Aug 04, 2008
By K. Holt
I agree that this Blu-ray could have been done a lot better but it is a definite improvement from the SD version. If you are a fan of this movie and HD this is the best you are going to get for at least a while so you have to take it or leave it. I don't regret buying it. I don't know what some of these other reviews are talking about with flashes of light, etc. I have two different players and a 60" and 40" screen and I didn't see any of that on either of them.

13 of 16 found the following review helpful:

Patriot Games - A fine adaptation of Clancy�s masterpiece!Feb 01, 2003
By K. Wyatt "ssintrepid"
Not for honor. Not for country. For his wife and child. These three bold statements are emblazoned on the cover of the DVD which, quite briefly, sums up the theme behind this fairly decent adaptation of Tom Clancy's best selling novel of the same name. While, as with all of the "Clancy" movies, the screenplay, written by W. Peter Iliff is very loosely based on the actual novel, this film is excellent as a stand alone. A minor note about the screenplay, they should've stuck with the original ending from the book, it would've been much more dramatic. This film certainly stuck a little closer to the original novel than the summer 2002 adaptation of "The Sum of All Fears."

Replacing "The Hunt for Red October's" Alec Baldwin and Gates McFadden (best known as Dr. Beverly Crusher from Star Trek The Next Generation) as Jack and Cathy Ryan are Harrison Ford and the ever beautiful Anne Archer. The films producers couldn't have made a better choice to fill these two integral roles. Reprising the role of Admiral James Greer, James Earl Jones gives another fine performance. The recently departed Richard Harris of Harry Potter fame performs admirably as well. Samuel L. Jackson does well with the role of Commander Robbie Jackson, fellow professor and best friend to Jack Ryan. Performing admirably in the primary antagonist's role is Sean Bean of Lord of the Rings fame. Outstanding performances by all mentioned.

The score, performed by James Horner, is quite in keeping with his usual high standards. It meshes beautifully with every scene. The DVD itself is not much to speak of, in that the only feature on it is one theatrical trailer. Ultimately this is fine though, as I rate/review movies based on the movie itself, not all of the extraneous other items...

Dr. John Patrick Ryan and his family are on a working vacation in London, England. As he and his family meet up in a park, what appears to be IRA terrorists, blow up a car and are attempting to kidnap members of the Royal family. Throwing caution to the wind, Jack Ryan jumps into the fray...

What follows is an extremely intriguing and well made movie. Many "Clancy" fans may not have found this film to be up to the standards of his novels. This, in my opinion, is not the case, being that it is entirely impossible to film a five hundred plus page novel into two hours. This is not the "Patriot Games" that I've read a couple times now, but it is very good as it stands on its own merits.

I highly recommend this film to all those who are interested in a good, suspense filled and action packed thriller. {ssintrepid}

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Visually Disappointing But Audibly Exciting on Blu rayAug 03, 2008
By P. G. Keller "Packerfan75"
In typical studio fashion, Paramount has transfered this exact same master that was temporarily released on HD DVD early this year which was a mixed bag and not what these films, the fans of the films, or high def owners deserve.

I really enjoy the first 3 Jack Ryan films, the 4th not so much because of Ben Affleck and because it's just too out of sync with the previous trilogy. The first 3 are classic political thrillers that do a great job of bringing Tom Clancy's books to the big screen. His vision and Jack Ryan character are for the most part, executed very well on these films. Many have their preferences as the stronger and better of the bunch but I like Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger individually for their own qualities and suspenseful action.

I've seen all of the Jack Ryan's on HD DVD, and sure enough, the Blu Ray's are exactly the same. Which is too bad because Paramount didn't do a very good job remastering them and they just don't look nearly as good as they should in hi def. I suspect that many Blu Ray owners will be pretty disappointed with the lack of visual pop that they're hoping for. Each of the Jack Ryan's looks better than the one before it which is typical as newer films upgrade easier to high def. And at least they all look better than their standard def counterparts. The problem is, is that most hi def owners have seen older films than these look better than these. Which brings us to wonder, what went wrong here? Granted, these films are a difficult upgrade as most of the scenes take place inside a submarine, house, office, or outside on overcast days, making it more difficult to provide that 3D pop we're looking for. But there are specks and dirt in the transfers and while I didn't find them in abundance or distracting, I do feel it's inexcusable at this point in the Hi Def's life cycle, especially for these movies. There's no reason for them not to be squeaky clean by now, even if they're going to look a little flat. But they are the best transfers available and the best we'll see until they provide us a proper remastering. But one is due.

The audio, well this is finally where these discs pop. And I mean POP!!! We're given some truly thunderous transfers here in Dolby TrueHD. These films sounded good to begin with on standard dvd (especially October) but these new transfers are just incredible. They easily trounce the old ones. The scores, sound effects, gun shots and explosions are absolutely thrilling. This is all moot if you don't have a proper surround system to decode and dish out the TrueHD tracks though. If thats the case, then you may want to consider keeping your standard discs if you have them because the audio is the clear selling point for the upgrade.

Despite my dissatisfaction with the flimsy visual upgrades, I'm still satisfied with these discs. I'd recommend them for any Blu Ray (and home theater) owner looking for a worthy upgrade for their favorite Tom Clancy films. Again, I stress you'll be much more impressed by the HD audio here rather than the passable but not demo worthy HD video. I give this set a 4 out of five because even though difficult, I believe if they really wanted to, Paramount could've and should've given these films a better makeover than they got. The powerful audio will help ease the disappointment with the video. Overall, I still recommend them.

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