Without Remorse Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Without Remorse debuts exclusively on Amazon Prime on April 30. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse marks the onscreen elevation of the late author’s CIA operative anti-hero John Clark from perennial second banana to the main attraction. And after an interminable 28 years wending its way through the production pipeline, it’s about time. As directed by Stefano Sollima, the film strays far from the novel’s story in favor of something more generic, but it’s nonetheless bolstered by a sizzling, charismatic performance by leading actor Michael B. Jordan that sets the stage for more action in possible future entries. First appearing in print as part of Clancy’s famed Jack Ryan book series, John Clark was previously played by Willem Dafoe in 1994’s Clear and Present Danger and Liev Scheiber in 2002’s The Sum of all Fears. In both of those films, the enigmatic Clark offered a muscular, shoot-first brand of spycraft that was an interesting contrast with the more cerebral heroics embodied by Jack Ryan (the author’s other most famous character), with both prior takes on the character proving compelling in their own right. The 1993 publication of Without Remorse gave the character an origin story and seemed to point the way towards an impending celluloid adaptation, but home studio Paramount kept kicking the can down the road. Years turned to decades as they attempted to crack the story, with Keanu Reeves, Gary Sinise, and Tom Hardy all attached at various points even as the studio careened from one Jack Ryan reboot to another (the current Amazon Prime show starring John Krasinski marks the fifth iteration of the Ryan character if you’re keeping score). It seems it took Jordan’s arrival in the superstar firmament to finally put fuel in the tank and actually get the thing made. In that sense, things probably worked out for the best. Without Remorse could well end up finally creating another franchise to run on a parallel track (and possibly intersecting with) the Ryan series. Although initially slated for theatrical release from Paramount, pandemic-related delays prompted Amazon to acquire it, with the added effect of keeping Clark in close proximity to his Clancy kin. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=amazon-prime-video-spotlight-april-2021&captions=true"] Although sharing the same title as the novel, Taylor Sheridan and Will Staples’ script pays lipservice but charts its own course (so, basically like every Tom Clancy adaptation since 1992). Where the book was heavily centered on John Kelly (the man who will become John Clark) embarking on a trial of vengeance when his ex-prostitute girlfriend is murdered, with a digression that sees our hero sneak into and out of Vietnam, the film swaps the 1970s-centric plotline for something a bit less locked into a specific era, which either makes it more timeless or less unique, depending on one’s perspective. Following an ostensibly successful mission in Syria, John Kelly and his team find themselves targeted for murder, getting picked off one-by-one, with Kelly only escaping death when his pregnant wife (Lauren London) is murdered in his stead. Embarking on a trail of bloody vengeance, Kelly finds himself at odds with his own government as he uncovers a plot aimed at bringing about war with Russia. With assistance from Jodie Turner-Smith’s Karen Greer (niece of Jack Ryan’s boss Jim Greer, played by James Earl Jones in the films and Wendell Pierce in the show), Kelly sets out to prevent an international crisis even as he seeks revenge for the loss of his wife. It all comes off fairly boilerplate, but none of that should necessarily be taken as a debit. Director Sollima (Sicario: Day of the Soldado) gives the action sequences a gritty aesthetic that’s functional rather than flashy. So no, there’s nothing here that approaches the slow-build intensity of the Colombian van ambush in Philip Noyce’s Clear and Present Danger –– which remains a masterpiece of unfolding tension nearly thirty years later –– or the terrifying countdown to a nuclear bomb detonation in Phil Robinson’s The Sum of All Fears. Instead, Sollima’s approach is steeped in more of a vérité style that foregrounds impact and immediacy. While it doesn’t particularly stand out, neither does it detract from the experience. On the casting front too, the ensemble has been stacked with familiar faces who can be counted on to deliver solid work character work, even if the characters themselves are a bit too thinly-sketched (thank goodness reliable players like Jamie Bell and Guy Pearce can work some mojo with their “enigmatic CIA honcho” and “enigmatic politician” roles, respectively). First and foremost, this is a showpiece turn for the man who occupies the lead. While Without Remorse lacks the cerebral intrigue that made The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, or even The Sum of All Fears so memorable, it offers a brand of bullets-and-brawn action that feels increasingly out of place in today’s superhero-centric cinema landscape. It hearkens back to the mid-’90s era where seemingly every thriller was a Tom Clancy adaptation, a John Grisham adaptation, a wannabe Tom Clancy adaptation, or a wannabe John Grisham adaptation. You know, the good old days. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://ift.tt/3e2V76F]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3t5sXMm
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming