Susan Granger’s review of “SUM OF ALL FEARS” (Paramount Pictures)
Timing is everything – and that’s this thriller’s primary problem. In production long before 9/11, the “What-if?” plot, nevertheless, evokes the nightmare of that attack on America. Having inexplicably reversed the aging process, Jack Ryan (previously portrayed by Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin) is now played by 29 year-old Ben Affleck. He’s a rookie Ph.D. information analyst at the CIA whose relationship with a physician girl-friend (Bridget Moynahan) is complicated when he’s suddenly involved in a global crisis. Because of Ryan’s expertise on the tactics of a new Russian president (Ciaran Hinds), he’s tapped by his boss (Morgan Freeman) to be an unofficial advisor on an overseas intelligence mission. Meanwhile, a neo-Nazi fascist (Alan Bates) acquires plutonium for nuclear weapon and plots a deadly terrorist attack in Baltimore, Maryland, cleverly focusing the blame on the Russians, hoping to ignite a massive response from both sides, particularly the U.S. President (James Cromwell) and his staff (Philip Baker Hall, Ron Rifkin, Bruce McGill). Despite some convoluted, incomprehensible plot twists, writers Paul Attanasio and Daniel Pyne have retained the realism inherent in Tom Clancy’s novel and director Phil Alden Robinson has crafted a human drama set within a devastating debacle, punctuated by Jerry Goldsmith’s score. But it’s not Affleck’s tepid, one-dimensional performance that sticks in your mind. It’s charismatic Liev Schreiber as an intrepid CIA spy who’s hot on the trail of the culprits. Perhaps he should be the next Jack Ryan. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Sum of All Fears” is a chilling, suspenseful 7. There’s no question that this is a well-made movie, but are you psychologically prepared to see a shocking depiction of what you’re worried about in real life?
