"Hi, I'm Tom Clancy, and I wrote the book that they ignored."

Although Clancy's opening line in his audio commentary on The Sum Of All Fears may have been meant facetiously, the act of compressing a dense 800-page book (900 in paperback) into a 130 double-space-paged script has a predictably brutal effect on the original story; but with this in mind, the resulting film is -- on its own merits -- a tightly-paced political thriller that delivers just about all that the movie trailers promise.

Lacking the characterization continuity of the James Bond films, the film suffers from Ben Affleck's anemic portrayal of CIA agent Jack Ryan, previously played by Alec Baldwin (Hunt For Red October) and Harrison Ford (A Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games). The Jack Ryan that appears here bears no emotional or logical resemblance to the character that was seen in the previous Clancy-based films; his actions and reactions, even his knowledge base, seem to be wholly disconnected.

Although failure of nerve somewhere along the way required changing the villains from the Arabs of the book to some undetailed neo-fascists, the biggest failure of the film is that with its eye on what it wants to accomplish in the end (which is to rewrite Fail Safe), it glosses over what happens along the way. The linchpin event that occurs in the center of the film seems to bear little or no emotional weight, and both the film and the characters acknowledge it in passing as simply another obstacle on their way to the finale. It deserves far more.

The positives of the film, however, are sizeable. Costars James Cromwell (as President Fowler) and Morgan Freeman (playing a Colin Powell-like CIA Director William Cabot) are unfailingly excellent, as is Bridget Moynahan, playing the love interest Dr. Cathy Muller. The acting throughout is at a very high level, and the direction by Phil Alden Robinson (who may have been tapped for this film as a result of his work on the first portion of the TV miniseries "Band Of Brothers") is good, although a stronger hand on the production may have been needed.

Film Synopsis:

Ben Affleck stars as CIA agent Jack Ryan in a race against time to stop terrorists who plan to ignite a war between the U.S. and Russia by detonating a nuclear bomb at the Super Bowl.

Technical

Video:	Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic)
Audio:	ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround FRENCH: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles:	English, Closed Captions
Chapters:	17

The film is presented in an anamorphically-enhanced 2.35:1 widescreen (some sources erroneously cite 1.78:1), and is an admirable transfer. Fleshtones occasionally veer slightly from their correct hues, but not objectionally so; grain also appears in some of the darker scenes taking place in Russia, but this is almost certainly a reflection of a different, faster film stock used on location. Contrast is excellent throughout, and even the harsh bleach-bypass scenes which take place in the film's center section are transferred perfectly.

Despite the film being released theatrically in DTS, it is here transferred with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track; but the audio is so strong and detailed that it is doubtful that DTS could possibly have been an improvement. Scenes such as the attack on the carrier are of demonstration quality, with pitch-perfect use of the subwoofer and surround channels.

Two other surround soundtracks are included: English and French Dolby. Both are, as to be expected, noticeably flatter than the 5.1, but are very good in their own right.

Supplements

• Feature Commentary by director Phil Alden Robinson and cinematographer John Lindley
• Feature Commentary by director Phil Alden Robinson and novelist Tom Clancy
• A Cautionary Tale
• Casting (12:53)
• Ben Affleck (Jack Ryan), Phil Alden Robinson (who looks passingly like Spielberg), Liev Schreiber (John Clark), Daniel Pyne (screenwriter), Bridget Moynihan (Cathy Muller), James Cromwell (President Fowler), Morgan Freeman (Bill Cabot), Mace Newfeld (producer)
• Production (17:02)
• John Lindley (cinematographer), Mace Newfeld, Daniel Pyne (screenwriter), Affleck, Freeman, Schreiber, Charles Brandon (CIA), Alan Bates (Richard Dressler), Schreiber, Moynihan, Cromwell
• Visual Effects:
• Carrier Attack (8:39)
• A-4 (6:24)
• Hospital (3:54)
• Motorcade (3:58)
• Helicopter (4:53)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:26)

Two full-length commentary tracks are included. The first, by director Phil Alden Robinson and cinematographer Jonn Lindlay, focuses on the technical aspects of the production itself. The two speak of the difficulties faced during the production, and talk at length about the cast and the process of bringing the script to the screen.

The second commentary, with Robinson and author Tom Clancy, is by far the better of the two. Clancy brings us his expertise in all things techno-military, and not only points out all of the events in the film that could not possibly happen (and in fact did not happen in his book), but also points out things that may seem to be impossible that could, in fact, occur (such as, for example, the fact that a nuclear missile disappeared during or shortly after Desert Storm, and its whereabouts are still unknown).

A thirty-minute featurette, A Cautionary Tale, is -- surprisingly -- presented in anamorphic widescreen, unusual for this sort of supplement. There are two sections to this featurette: "Casting," and the more interesting "Production." Both are interesting enough for one viewing, but not are not indispensible.

Half an hour's worth of special-effects breakdowns (with commentary) are also included for five of the most important effect-oriented scenes, as well as the requisite theatrical trailer. Unexpectedly, there are no cast and crew biography cards or promos for upcoming videos or films.