The Sum of All Fears This instant

In easily the most horrible Clancy adaptation ever, The Sum of All Fears produces not only a nuclear blast on U.S. soil, but something just as damaging: overwhelming political correctness. The screenwriter for this film changed the villains from Islamic terrorists (something current) to a rogue neo-Nazi group (something anachronistic), and it is a completely flagrant, transparent, sanitized placation of the PC crowd.

Essentially the plot involves neo-Nazis detonating a mid-football game nuke in Baltimore to goad the United States into a nuclear war with a failing Russian government. Yeah, because there will be a lot of land and nothing but good times after the U.S. and Russia go all Jackson Pollock with nukes across the world. Pretty stupid, huh? Well, the problems after that are numerous.

First, after dropping a nuke nobody would stick around to see their handiwork. This is not a suicide-bomber or serial killer. Second, could someone explain to the cast and crew what an EMP actually does? If a massive one hits downtown Baltimore, there will not be operational handheld electronics or helicopter radios, and they certainly shouldn't be used to advance the storyline. Speaking of the helicopter, if one gets rocked out of the sky by the concussive force of a mushroom cloud, I doubt someone is walking away, much less saving the day like Ryan. Finally, why is Ryan still in the Baltimore/D.C. area shortly after the explosion? Why does the movie end with him kicking his feet up in relaxation as if there isn't fallout? It'd been more believable if he had a third eye on his forehead or looked like visitor to the bar from Total Recall.

It is obvious Ben Affleck is not Jack Ryan. Sure, he's playing a former military officer with a law degree who is employed by the CIA as a foreign affairs analyst, but he's way too young (in his late 20s when filmed) for this role. He's neither Alec Baldwin nor Harrison Ford, two actors who actually look as if they could be Jack Ryan. The best he could possibly hope for is to be a younger version; a mouth-breathing, late-20 something, semi-serious entry level employee who would be more comfortable at a Frat house than a political environment. He's as miscast as Denise Richards would be playing a nuclear physicist. (Oops!) Come to think of it, why WASN'T she cast for that role in this movie? It would have been just as believable.

Aside from Morgan Freeman's portrayal of Bill Cabot (Director of the CIA), there wasn't much I enjoyed other than a fun scene in which Ryan misses a date with his fiancé and tells her that his boss (i.e. Cabot) needs him to board a plane to Russia instead. Most of the time spent watching this movie involved me looking down at my watch, which is sad considering the realistic nature of the topic and source material.

Jason ElinGet more detail about The Sum of All Fears.