Opens globally exclusively on Amazon Prime on April 30.
[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Up]
A decent origin-story placeholder for a larger series (a post-credits scene eliminates any doubt about this), Without Remorse does everything a Tom Clancy yarn should, what with Russians, the C.I.A., and plot-armor clad men swirling around in the mix. Another entry into the “Ryanverse,” this film sidesteps Jack entirely, focusing instead on the series’ resident bad-ass, John Kelly/Clark (Michael B. Jordan), whose path from unstoppable Navy SEAL to unstoppable super-spy is chronicled in this outing. Jordan’s work in the lead, along with some cracking action sequences and a reasonably interesting series of plot twists boosts the prospects of the larger effort: even if the film can’t manage to reach the upper echelon of the franchise’s best installments.
Without Remorse kicks off in modern-day Syria, where a C.I.A. liaison, Ritter (Jamie Bell), briefs a Navy SEAL squad about their upcoming hostage extraction op. Supposedly up against local rebels, the team learns that the hostage is actually in the hands of Russian soldiers, and the Americans just barely manage to get out as a result. A few months later and back in suburbia U.S.A., members of the SEAL team start dropping like flies: victims of a covert Russian hit squad. One homicide attempt goes awry with SEAL team member John Kelly (Jordan) surviving, though just barely and at a terrible personal cost.
Determined to get his revenge, and aided by his SEAL team commander, Greer (Jodie Turner-Smith), Kelly starts sifting through the scraps of intelligence he’s able to pick up, groping towards answers. Along the way he gets tangled up with Ritter and the C.I.A., as well as the sympathetic Secretary of Defense, Clay (Guy Pearce), who exposes deeper layers of deceit connected to the Syria raid and assassination attempts, all of which threaten global stability. Bouncing between the right and wrong side of the law, and a shadow area given cover by the C.I.A.’s clandestine services, John moves closer to the truth about what happened to him and why, leaving a bloody trail of vengeance in his wake.
Well-paced at roughly 110 minutes, with an action scene laced into the narrative every 15 minutes or so, Without Remorse moves well and has stakes. What’s more, the movie should be commended for tying itself into the larger fabric of the Ryanverse, with Ritter and Greer’s appearances acting as strong connective tissues between the old and the new. Clear and Present Danger stans will recognize the Ritter character from Henry Czerny’s memorable 1994 turn in that picture, along with Turner-Smith’s connection to Jack Ryan’s C.I.A. rabbi, Jim Greer (James Earl Jones). Although it’s not necessary to understand the plot, fans of the series will get a little extra juice out of their appearances considering the narrative baggage they bring from the other installments.
As far as giddy enjoyment and fun, though, this is where all of that stops. What made Jack Ryan an interesting and identifiable character was his reliance on brains over brawn, which allowed the audience to step into his shoes at times. Sure, Jack could scrap with the best of them, whether it was slam-tackling a heavily armed I.R.A. bandit or bum-rushing a Colombian cartel’s stronghold, yet that kind of stuff was never his first choice, for as he often reminded people, he was just an analyst. John Kelly is the flipside of the Ryan coin in that he’s an action-forward character who also has brains enough to think for himself from time to time. He’s a James Bond or Jason Bourne type, which is to say he kicks ass and THEN starts asking questions.
Perhaps in time, from the heavily teased Rainbow Six sequel tacked onto the ending of this one, John Kelly will enjoy that same level of cultural relevancy, yet Without Remorse just doesn’t bring the character all the way there. Although Michael B. Jordan does as well as anyone could with this story, the character is just too grim, too mean. The audience sympathizes with him, sure, and Jordan can carry any scene he is in, yet without an amnesia hook, or Bond’s swagger, this is little more than a brutal, re-heated Cold War revenge fantasy.
John Kelly (later known as John Clark) has appeared as a character in the cinematic Ryanverse twice before, with his particular set of skills teased but never fully showcased via Willem Dafoe (Clear and Present Danger) and Liev Schreiber (The Sum of All Fears). And so while Without Remorse is indeed an enjoyable journey into a deeper lane of this fictional universe, it stops just short of being anything special. A lack of quality supporting work to match Jordan’s electric intensity doesn’t help, either, yet the always-evolving plot and twists the story takes right up to the end at least keep things interesting.
The film is also visually a bit flat, with director Stefano Sollima taking the term “shadow ops” somewhat literally with his lighting choices: a decision that further reinforces the relentlessly dark pall over the larger effort. Yet if Rainbow Six is indeed up next, maybe this more muted color palette is a clever wink at where things are going, which should do wonders for the review of the next installment. This one, though: it feels like a ripping two-part premiere of a series that’s got loads of promise through its first season. It’s a decent enough time, though, and should leave any viewer giving it a chance without remorse for their choice.
“Obvious Child” is the debut novel of Warren Cantrell, a film and music critic based out of Seattle, Washington. Mr. Cantrell has covered the Sundance and Seattle International Film Festivals, and provides regular dispatches for Scene-Stealers and The Playlist. Warren holds a B.A. and M.A. in History, and his hobbies include bourbon drinking, novel writing, and full-contact kickboxing.
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