Most Tom Clancy adaptations coming from Hollywood focus on the character Jack Ryan. The main Clancy protagonist ever since The Hunt for Red October was first published, his was the path that blazed the trail for the entirety of the Ryanverse to expand. One such character that helped those efforts early on is John Clark, who is finally getting that solo movie he’s been promised for some time. And he’s doing so with the help of actor Michael B. Jordan. Loyal readers, it is finally time to experience Without Remorse.
Based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name, Without Remorse is the story of Clark, a Navy SEAL. After seeing his pregnant wife murdered, he seeks revenge. That quest takes John Clark into deeper waters than he’d ever suspected, with players that are seen as above his pay grade. But just as Jack Ryan was merely an analyst that could save the day, John Clark is a warrior ready to take the fight to his enemies.
Part of that fight is using his training as an elite soldier trained by the US military. But as we see in this first look at Without Remorse, the other half of this conflict is purely unconventional Tom Clancy warfare. Nowhere is this more clear than when Michael B. Jordan's protagonist traps someone who has information he needs. Said trap sees him pinning hi victim's vehicle, setting it on fire, and climbing in for a good old fashioned movie interrogation. Clark's methods are extreme to say the least
After the delays that saw Without Remorse landing a 2020 release date for theatrical debut through Paramount, the project eventually found itself strategically shifting to Prime Video. While it’s a bummer that Michael B. Jordan’s big debut as the successor to the role that once belonged to Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber won’t make it to theaters, there is a pretty big upside. The folks at Prime Video can absolutely leverage this film as a cousin of the John Krasinski led Jack Ryan TV show, which might not only boost the profile of Without Remorse, but also the Amazon series that’s still awaiting its third season.
Even after several attempts at reinventing and sustaining Tom Clancy’s Ryanverse, there’s a lot riding on the shoulders of Without Remorse. If it succeeds, it could see Michael B. Jordan stepping into another iconic franchise remastered for today, with wide reaching implications as to where future projects could go. That’s especially true if this leads to Rainbow Six’s cinematic adaptation, which was part of the original deal struck to make this film. We’ll have to just wait and see what happens when Without Remorse takes its shot at greatness on April 30th, only on Prime Video.
