Amazon's Jack Ryan Has Screened, Here's What The Critics Are Saying
Jack Ryan is a hero who has made his way from the page to the screen to be played by no fewer than five actors. The latest to tackle the role is John Krasinski for the first TV adaptation of Tom Clancy's iconic action hero. The floppy-haired goofball from The Office isn't who many envisioned for Tom Clancy, especially after seeing the likes of Alec Baldwin and then Harrison Ford tackle the role. Amazon's Jack Ryan is something brand new, however, and it's only fitting that a different sort of actor lead the way.
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan follows CIA analyst and former Marine Jack Ryan who happens upon some suspicious bank transfers that kick off a series of events that pulls him from his safe desk job and forces him into a deadly chase throughout Europe and the Middle East on the mission to take down a terrorist figurehead before a massive attack on the United States. The series releases on Amazon Prime on August 31 at 12:01 a.m. PT, and critics have already sat down and watched what the new series has to offer. Opinions are mixed so far, but they all seem to agree on one thing: Jack Ryan is an intense ride. Let's start with Merrill Barr of Forbes, who summed up his feelings about Jack Ryan in a few straightforward sentences:
John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal was less gushing in his praise of Jack Ryan, but he was impressed by John Krasinski's performance in a project that could have been just another adaptation of Tom Clancy's character:
Although CNN's Brian Lowry also had praise for John Krasinski, he wasn't quite wowed by the finished product:
Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone acknowledged that Jack Ryan felt familiar rather than anything revolutionary. Nevertheless, he praised the series for standing out from its fellows on the small screen:
Over at Vulture, Kathryn VanArendonk felt that Jack Ryan had its selling points but some issues with tone:
At EW, Darren Franich was critical of how Jack Ryan lost touch of some of its cultural sensitivity and embraced all the action, explosions, and violence that are typical for action thrillers. Here's how he put it:
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The full first season of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan will be available on Amazon Prime beginning on August 31 at 12:01 a.m. PT. The series has already been renewed for a second season, so you don't need to worry that the story will be done for good at the end of the season finale. There are plenty of other Amazon Prime options in the works, as well as some intriguing broadcast TV offerings worth checking out.
Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).