The Sum of All Fears (2002)

I've read Tom Clancy's book and now watched this movie twice. While I think Clancy's book is a lot better than the movie (if you can live with Clancy's love of describing things a little too carefully), Affleck doesn't do any worse job portraying 'Jack Ryan' in The Sum of All Fears than Harrison Ford have done before him in Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games or Alec Baldwin did in The Hunt for Red October. (I haven't read all of Clancy's work, but I have actually read all these who's been taken to the screen about 'Ryan').

While the story of this movie might be weaker than what Baldwin had to work with, it's still an interesting one despite how difficult it's to translate it efficiently to the screen. There's also a lot of talent in supporting roles here, and I think that's not appreciated enough by most. It's not an quick delivered action story, but it spends a lot of good acting taking the story forward. While I do like most think Matt Damon is a lot more talented actor than his friend Affleck, the latter isn't given enough credit when he actually perform good roles. He's done a couple of those after all, and in this he's lifted by an ensemble cast and carries it well.

It's not as good as they probably hoped it would be either, but it was worth the time and effort. It's a shame they didn't take Affleck into another 'Ryan' movie, because there's other stories with better possibilities for movies about him and I think Affleck would have done well to carry the 'Jack Ryan' baton further.

Edit May 3, 2010; Rating dropped from 7 to 6, as my clouded judgment finally been opened by comparison to other movies watched and my slaughter of Air Force One. I also notice I didn't mention Bridget Moynahan at all during my review. I kind of always have enjoyed her role as 'Dr. Cathy Muller'.