10 replies to this topic

[S K Y F A L L]

 John Krasinski (13 Hours, “The Office”) will play Jack Ryan.

 

http://www.comingsoo...sodes-by-amazon

 

 

 

[SecretAgentFan]

I like Krasinski very much.  It will be interesting to see how they use his talents and tell worthwhile stories for the Jack Ryan-character.

[Orion]

Quite excited for this, hoping the longer form will allow for more complex narratives and fleshed out characters than the film adaptations have.

[hoagy]

Seriously ?

Jack Ryan is falling pretty far down the line...and I am not referring to being on TV...TV can be great, particularly for long-form presentation of a novel.  But, this guy ?

[tdalton]

Seriously ?

Jack Ryan is falling pretty far down the line...and I am not referring to being on TV...TV can be great, particularly for long-form presentation of a novel.  But, this guy ?

 

Agreed.

 

Although, I can't help but feel that it'll have to at least be better than that last Jack Ryan film.  If they manage to do worse than that, I would be pretty shocked.

[Safari Suit]

I like Krasinski but he does strike me as quite right for Ryan. 13 Hours proved he could do action, but while he certainly doesn't come across as a dummy, I wouldn't say he conveys the kind of (somewhat ludicrous) intellectualism the Ryan character embodies. But that is what acting is all about and I hope he proves me wrong. I'm looking forward to it.

[hoagy]

Agreed.  I like the guy -- for the right role.  Not to promote stereotyping, but -- you cannot act your way past your face.  He does give the appearance of a guy who started out as an analyst, writing biographies, and winds up holding high offices.

[S K Y F A L L]

Not sure how I feel about the casting or that it is now a tv show.

 

I liked most the films, to bad Ben Affleck didn't return IMO. Shadow Recruit was just brutal.

[Odd Jobbies]

I think Krasinski is smart casting. Jack Ryan's USP is that he isn't  a lantern-jawed action hero. Imo Ford, Affleck and Pine were all wrong for the part. When Ryan picks up a gun, the audience need to think, 'Oh, dear! I hope he knows where the trigger is!'. When Ford, Affleck and Pine pick up a gun you think, 'Ok, now the bad guys are gonna be sorry.'

 

On paper Baldwin was also wrong, with his matinee good looks. However, he was (in those days) a better actor than his successors; watch him more than hold his own alongside Pacino, Spacey, Jack Lemon etc. in Mamet's amazing Glengarry Glen Ross  1992).  

 

And McTiernan was one of best action directors of all time (he could do the balancing act of spectacular action while keeping character and story front and centre). So despite casting an unlikely looking intellectual they made October  work phenomenally well. Though with Connery in the cast it's that much easier for everyone else to seem less macho.

 

Without that perfect meeting of acting talent, directing talent and Connery, Amazon need to cast to type and i can totally see Krasinski as a geek whose uncomfortable in the filed, but resourceful enough to improvise - a kind of MacGyver for the information-age.

 

I also think this character and subject matter suits tv serialisation better cinema. I imagine Homeland will be the show they aspire to here, although Amazon will have to really raise their game to achieve this.

[Syndicate]

Since it was talked about, and nothing since then.  How much will the Jack Ryan series be a realsitic spy series and not super spy like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Mission Impossible, James Bond, Agent Of SHIELD, Get Smart and The Saint at all. Where it morel like The Hunt For Red October, Clear and Present Danger, Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, The Siege, Body Of Lies and Seven Days In May. That get it right or understand what is a CIA Analyst, CIA Operation Officer and CIA Operation Officer In Special Activities, Presidential Daily Intelligence Briefing, Eyes Only Do Not Copy, CIA Station Chief, all cell phones must be left with security before heading to their office and picked up before heading home for the day, cipher lock, Senate Intelligence, House Intelligence, burn bag and so on. 

 

Anything that it will come out on DVD/Blu-ray after being on Amazon.

Edited by Syndicate, 27 November 2016 - 09:22 PM.

[Professor Pi]

When Krasinski was promoting '13 Hours' he expressed reverence for the military as much of his family has served.  So despite his comedic background "The Office", I think he will respect the role and do well with it.  It could be that his comedic reputation expressed his range and his more innate talents might be suited to action-thrillers (that being said, I haven't seen '13 Hours'.)

 

Like EON, the filmmakers of the Ryan series have failed to faithfully adapt the books in chronological order befitting of Ryan's character arc.  Baldwin was miscast, but performed well.  Ford was too old, but would have been great had they made it to the President Ryan books (Debt of Honor, Executive Orders.)  Because of his age, they had to have him about to retire in what his the first Jack Ryan book, Patriot Games.  The end of the Cold War rendered filming what was probably Clancy's best novel, The Cardinal in the Kremlin, and only true sequel to Hunt for Red October, problematic given the geo politics of the 90s.  Sum of All Fears needed an older Ryan but was retrofitted as a reboot, though Affleck acquits himself well, and Morgan Freeman succeeds James Earl Jones admirably too.  That film might play better today given Russia's renewed antagonism with Putin as their President.  In yet another reboot, Shadow Recruit gives us perhaps the best iteration of Kathy Ryan in the series (Keira Knightley) and better explains their relationship, as well as the inspired casting of Kevin Costner (once offered the original role), but by then everyone knew Chris Pine as Captain Kirk.  It was serviceable, but not memorable.  It would seem the highlight of the series was the third film, Clear and Present Danger.  Not sure why Ford never completed the three picture deal he signed with Paramount.

 

With all the ghost writers of the late Tom Clancy still cranking out Ryan novels, and the last Clancy tomes being 1000+ pages, perhaps a serialized TV series will bring some justice to the character.