Jack Ryan

Starring: John Krasinski (30 episodes), Wendell Pierce (30 episodes), Michael Kelly (22 episodes), Abbie Cornish (14 episodes), Betty Gabriel (14 episodes), John Hoogenakker (13 episodes), Adam Bennett (10 episodes), Kevin Kent (10 episodes), Noomi Rapace (8 episodes), Nina Hoss (8 episodes), Ali Suliman (8 episodes), Jordi Molla (8 episodes), Peter Guinness (8 episodes), Dina Shihabi (8 episodes), Francisco (8 episodes), Alexej Manvelov (8 episodes), Cristina Umana (8 episodes), James Cosmo (8 episodes), Jovan Adepo (8 episodes), Eduar Salas (8 episodes), Karim Zein (8 episodes), Nadia Affolter (7 episodes), Arpy Ayvazian (7 episodes), Okieriete Onaodowan (6 episodes), Louis Ozawa (3 episodes), Zuleikha Robinson (6 episodes), Ryn Greenwell (6 episodes), Michael Pena (6 episodes), Haaz Sleiman (6 episodes), Allan Hawco (6 episodes), Amir El-Masry (6 episodes), Susan Misner (6 episodes), John Schwab (6 episodes), Victor Rasuk (6 episodes), Michael McElhatton (6 episodes), Mikhail Safronov (6 episodes), Marcela Vanegas (6 episodes), Paula Castano (6 episodes), Timothy Hutton (5 episodes), Michael O'Neill (5 episodes), Goran Kostic (5 episodes), Mena Massoud (5 episodes), John Magaro (3 episodes), Anthony J. Abraham (3 episodes), Michael Gaston (2 episodes), Cynthia Preston (1 episode), Frank Whaley (1 episode)
Directed by: Jann Turner (7 episodes), Patricia Riggen (3 episodes), Daniel Sackheim (3 episodes), Andrew Bernstein (3 episodes), Phil Abraham (2 episodes), Carlton Cuse (1 episode)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery
2018-2023

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Summary: CIA Analyst Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) finds himself in dangerous situations where he must overcome deadly odds to save lives.

Review:
Tim: I remember first hearing that they were developing a Jack Ryan television series, starring John Krasinski as the titular CIA analyst. I was incredibly excited. I love Krasinski from his The Office days and while he's had strong moments during his career, it's always felt like he deserves more. He seemed incredible for this role- clearly intelligent, likable, and he's bulked up in recent years for action movies. I was excited for Tom Clancy's character, too. The Hunt for Red October is still one of my favorite movies, and Harrison Ford made two good films as the character. The last two Jack Ryan movies failed to meet expectations, though. There felt like such untapped potential with this character and the world he inhabits.

Looking back now, six years and four seasons later, I'm a bit mixed on Jack Ryan. The series was certainly good, but it also failed to live up to expectations. That might seem odd- it got good reviews throughout its run, was a nice hit for Amazon. I loved the first season- it was so intense, thrilling, engaging. I looked forward to every episode. The second season was a bit less effective, but still entertaining. The third season had some terrific moments, but it felt very talky. There was far too much lackluster dialogue and not enough action. I was really bored with the fourth season. It felt like almost all talking and less-than-effective gunfights. Finishing each episode felt like more of a chore than it should have. It was disappointing. As I look back, there were definitely high points that I really enjoyed. I still feel quite lucky to have gotten four seasons of this show. However, I also felt glad it was ending. It wasn't compelling enough to continue another season. It felt decently entertaining, but I'm not sure it accomplished all that much in four seasons.

Krasinski is still one of the best parts of the show. His Jack Ryan was interesting and I liked him as a character. The lighthearted moments didn't work quite as well as I'd have liked. Krasinski is a funny guy, but he was stuck in a too-serious role here. I wish they'd had more lightness in the character. Still, I'm really happy for Krasinski that he played this role so well. Wendell Pierce made a really effective James Greer. I very much enjoyed his performance. He brought a good amount of humor to the role and his energy and banter with Krasinski was absolutely a highlight. I'll always enjoy seeing Pierce in future projects because he was so good in this role. Certainly one of the series' biggest strengths. Michael Kelly is so strong in nearly everything he does and that holds true here. Kelly is wonderful as Mike November. It's definitely a supporting role, but the series picked up every single time he showed up. I couldn't get enough screen time with Kelly. I liked Abbie Cornish, but I wish she had a bigger role. She was just too limited throughout the series. Betty Gabriel did a nice job, but her performance ended up feeling uneven. At times, I was so impressed by her work. But, in others, it felt like her character was restrained to the point where I didn't look forward to seeing her on screen. She'd just say a bunch of words that didn't really do anything and bog the story down. I recognize a lot of that is the writing. It's too bad, because this male-heavy show needed stronger women characters. I did enjoy Noomi Rapace's arc during that season. She was good. Ali Suliman was especially memorable during that first great season. Jordi Molla was a highlight in season two. James Cosmo was one of the best parts of the third season- I especially enjoyed his performance. Michael Pena was in the fourth and worst season, but I had no issues with his performance. I like Pena so much and I loved that he was welcomed into their motley crew. The cast throughout this show was quite large and diverse and it's one of the series' strengths.

When the series first started, I was quite enthralled with the idea of Jack Ryan stories being a series. Perhaps that was the issue with the last two movies? With more time, the series could explore the details and intricacies of the story, verses moving so quickly due to a short run time. Now that I've seen four seasons of this, I think I was wrong. Jack Ryan likely works best in films. The plots need to be quick-moving. With so much time, it's easy to get into overwhelming amounts of dialogue, where smart people say things back-and-forth to each other and each episode has like one exciting sequence. That weighs on you, episode after episode, season after season. It's a heck of a lot cheaper to produce a show where characters mostly just talk to each other, but it doesn't make for truly compelling television. I actually hope five years from now, they do more Jack Ryan movies, but you know, make them good?

Still, I'll look back on this series more favorably than not. I got to see Krasinski step into this classic role and deliver consistently strong performances. Wendell Pierce emerged as a actor I'll now always love to see, and any time with Michael Kelly is time worth spent. This series had its problems, yes, but it was still effective.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: The Office, Aquarius, House of Cards, Quantico