With social media ablaze with conspiracy theories about the existence of a “deep state” operating inside our federal government, the arrival of the movie adaptation of Tom Clancy’s “Without Remorse” couldn’t be timelier. It fits tightly into the QAnon model of rogue politicians creating trouble where none previously existed. But it also provides Michael B. Jordan with a golden opportunity to establish a geopolitical franchise built around his portrayal of Clancy’s superagent John Clark.
For this origin story’s purposes, Clark is introduced as John Kelly, a Navy SEAL with a particular set of skills enabling him to battle dozens of clandestine folks who’d very much like to see him dead. You see, he knows too much, which makes him dangerous – and ticked off. Why, because a quartet of alleged Russian operatives have invaded his home, killing his pregnant wife and leaving him face-down on the floor bleeding out. His only clue to who is behind this attack is the one assailant who got away. John saw his face and you know it’s just a matter of time before he and the bald baddie come face-to-face again.
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Yes, we’re in highly predictable territory here, especially if you’ve seen any of the five flicks featuring Clancy’s other superagent, Jack Ryan, for whom Clark served as a chief operative. It’s basically the same mix of intense action and convoluted plots involving miscreants attempting to alter the world order. Here, it’s a preposterous scheme to unite a divided America by giving the citizens what they want: a nation and a people they can freely hate with impunity, ala the U.S.S.R.
The question is how high this stratagem reaches up through our government. There’s never any doubt John will get to the bottom of the top, but writers Taylor Sheridan (“Hell or High Water”) and videogame vet Will Staples make it just interesting enough to stay glued to what amounts to a better-than-average streamer premiering April 30 on Amazon Prime. Just don’t go in expecting a second coming of “The Hunt for Red October.” It’s more on a par with “The Sum of All Fears,” which coincidentally was a Jack Ryan origin picture. The difference is Jordan is no Ben Affleck —thank God!
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He’s actually pretty damn good —handsome, rugged and smart. His John Kelly takes no prisoners while proving a very sharp thorn in the sides of his various superiors, including Guy Pearce’s shifty-eyed secretary of defense, Jamie Bell’s untrustworthy CIA special agent Robert Ritter, and Jodie Turner-Smith’s Navy SEAL team leader, Karen Greer. Yes, she’s related to Jim Greer, the CIA boss so memorably played by James Earl Jones in “Clear and Present Danger.” She’s his daughter, and she’s a whole lot meaner and authoritative in a role Turner-Smith (“Queen & Slim”) makes her own via an engaging mix of heart and bad-assery.
I kept waiting for her and her shaved head to evolve into a love interest for the suddenly widowed John Kelly, but thankfully it doesn’t happen. But in what will undoubtedly become a plethora of sequels, I believe such restraint will fade, particularly given the amount of chemistry Jordan and Turner-Smith generate traveling the world offing bad guys and saving each other’s backsides. Bell, also quite good, may well join them in this CIA version of kumbaya.
First, though, Jordan’s Kelly and Bell’s Ritter must begin as bitter enemies, lacking trust and respect for each other. Director Stefano Sollima (“Sicario: Legend of the Soldado”) milks their adversity to the max, as these two fine actors enliven their rivalry with just enough nuance to make their feud interesting. But this is Jordan’s movie all the way, appearing in every scene and always game for whatever mission-impossible fix Sollima places him in, from holding his breath for what seems like hours under water to getting shot and beaten multiple times.
He’s basically the SEAL’s version of Rasputin, which is apropos given most of “Without Remorse” unfolds in a Mother Russia that’s a real mother for a host of extras being bent, folded and mutilated by a steady series of firefights and explosions. Would you expect less from a Tom Clancy adaptation? In the end, the story takes on the effect of cinematic chicken soup for a genre that’s largely been in short supply since COVID-19 put the kibosh on big-screen actioners. I know, Amazon is an in-home streamer, but “Without Remorse” pleasantly projects as something bigger than your wide-screen TV set or phone. It’s got juice.
It’s also got Jordan, an action star in the waiting. “Without Remorse” gives him the chance to prove he’s more than just another Apollo Creed offspringor a formidable villain for the Black Panther to vanquish. He’s a bonafide movie star with charisma, class and enough acting chops to sell any flick, even one as rote as this one.
Movie review
WITHOUT REMORSE
(R for violence.) Cast includes Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Guy Pearce and Jodie Turner-Smith. Premieres April 30 on Amazon Prime. Grade: B
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