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Not long ago, one could look at a picture like sum of all fears with the same innocence as we look back on it today, as a “thriller.” Now, however, it works not as a thriller but as a confirmer, which confirms that indeed we are headed for disaster. The picture’s premise is the explosion of a nuclear weapon in the city of Washington. Bombs and Buffet recently gave a speech during which he spoke such nonsense that I had no idea that one day we would hear that “it is coming, it’s inevitable.” In the old days, such stuff could pass as a fantasy for images of their use was apparent, now it is just a fear which unlike ‘black Sunday’ gives shape to the emotions, but does not get rid of them.
Despite that, an argument can and has been made that Clancy’s awful prophecy has in it the requisite dose of Hollywood happy ending, in which war does not come and that a handsome couple during the testimony of their undying love confide beneath the benevolent rays of the sun on the White House lawn tell on television. As we leave the cinema, the lights are on and we are smiling, freshened, awaiting action but being confined to the fact that the greater part of Baltimore is a radioactive waste. Take humanity. The reason why there is happiness is because we the audience rest assured one comes out of the mess having emerged as the two basking on the blanket who are no more than some ordinary mortals.
This film comes to life from yet another one of Clancy’s spine-chillingly true tales featuring Jack Ryan, the younger (Alfred Ford) CIA agent, who is played by Ben Affleck. Unlike most films, this one follows the ancient tradition where the main character is shown to be directly involved with everything that is of importance. While it may sound unrealistic at first, Clancy writes about war and issues of national security so his work being a means to transfer information makes sense.
The tale is set in 1973 when an Israeli plane with a nuclear bomb onboard crashes in Syria. Later on, the bomb, which was never detonated, is mined, put on the black market, and sold to a right-wing extremist with a rather wild conspiracy: “Hitler was an idiot. Instead of America and Russia fighting, he should have let them.” The madman plans to trigger a nuclear war between the world’s superpowers in the hopes that the harsh aftermath will eventually be claimed by Aryan fascists.
It is politically correct to employ neo-Nazis in this film: Put simply, it’s better to create villains who won’t outrage anybody. This film can be screened in Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq without anyone walking out. It is more probable that if a bomb blows up at some point in the future in a major city, it will be in the hands of True Believers who, because of their certainty about the next world, think it is acceptable to kill us in this world.
Ryan also plays the role of an unofficial aide to Bill Cabot (Morgan Freeman) who is some sort of a head in the CIA and a nice man who has a “back channel” to the Kremlin so as to help avoid these sorts of misunderstandings. Ryan and Cabot travel to Moscow to meet with a newly newly elected Soviet president(Ciaran Hinds). The new Soviet leader seems to be a reasonable man but is forced to take some unreasonable steps like the invasion of Chechnya to satiate the hawks in his cabinet.
The United States is run by President Fowler (resembling Lincoln in stature, he is played by James Cromwell). His advisors resemble some of the most convincing character actors of the movie industry, so head-scratching is the Hollywood casting of Philip Baker Hall, Alan Bates, Bruce McGill, etc. Following the bombing of Baltimore, there are crucial scenes on Air Force One. These demonstrate that the president and his cabinet are not calmly and analytically discussing events but rather shouting at one another. At least somewhere I find even reassuring, to know that our leaders might actually be very angry at those times. Strangely, most people are dispassionate about nuclear war, but the ability to wage one and its trauma is.
The movie includes a few jaw-dropping and frightening special effects which I will not describe because they lunge at you in such an unexpected way that I find it too powerful. As with every movie, there are also some secondary plot lines, including a particularly good dirty tricks expert John Clark (Liev Schreiber), who I am very thankful is on our side. As always with these movies, the most annoying part is knowing the truth and not being able to reach through the bureaucracy.
There are some weaknesses that go hand in hand with those strengths. It seems to me that Jack Ryan’s solo performances in Baltimore after the bomb are too precise and probably unrealistic. I doubt there would be any evil characters patiently waiting for him to come to the scene of the crime after it has been committed. I’m also not sure that all the steps from identifying plutonium, to finding the shipping manifest and invoice, to locating the gentleman who dug up the bomb could be completed with such satisfying accuracy. And I smile wearily at the willingness to provide Jack his girlfriend, Bridget Moynahan, a woman who only serves the purpose of (1) being impatient when he is called to attend official functions during dates, (2) invalidating his alibis, (3) being the hero, (4) becoming worried about him, (5) possessing blood and dirt, and (6) riding off into the sunset at the end of the story. It is quite clear that so many people are aware of the role that character has where it makes it almost impossible for her to exist as a real person.
This information won’t ruin the movie at all“. Director Phil Alden Robinson and his writers, Paul Attanasio and Daniel Pyne, do a great job of building suspense with the story, he adds all of the necessary scenic elements for balance reasons. My greatest concern is that some day ‘The Sum of All Fears’ will seem hopelessly optimistic in a post-apocalyptic world.
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