TOM CLANCY’S JACK RYAN [Premiere Review]: Damn it, Jim! Michael!

“Cardinal” Roberto de Bexar
@RobBex2

So I have to admit, this is actually something special to me.  I have always been a fan of the Jack Ryan series and I, at one point, wanted to be Jack Ryan. Also, I’m a huge fan of the titles actor John Krasinski. Put the two together and you get Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, which dropped on Amazon on August 31st.  

The pilot gives us a fantastic start to the series.  Giving us not only our Jack Ryan but also James Greer, who had been played by James Earl Jones to Harrison Ford’s Jack Ryan, but this time is played to perfection by Wendell Pierce (Suits). Numerous actors have played Jack Ryan including Alec Baldwin, Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine, but Krasinski brings something different. We see a bit into Ryan’s past, and his steady transition form simple analyst to field agent.

Action! Adventure! People staring off-screen!

I watched the first two episodes (the entire 8-episode season is currently streaming on Amazon), and while it is a fantastic watch and highly addicting, the producers played up the 9/11, and Bin Laden, references so many times in the pilot that I almost started to chuckle at the “this could be the next Bin Laden” line after the fifth time or so. Other than that, Amazon’s Jack Ryan is a thrilling series that you are going to want to binge. You can tell that Amazon put a lot of money behind it, not only with the actors, but with the locations. This show goes around the world, and the second episode is a giant step in the right direction after the pilot. 4/5 CIA Bibles.

Amazon’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series is currently streaming in its entirety.

-Robert Bexar