Ford’s first Jack Ryan film, an R-rated follow-up to “The Hunt for Red October,” emphasizes Ryan’s family and his struggle to protect them from a rogue-IRA terrorist, Sean Miller (Sean Bean), after Jack thwarts Miller’s London-based attempt to assassinate UK royals. You can forgive this base-hit from Summer 1992’s more “meh” thriller plotting elements that dumb down the third act largely on the tension and character dynamics established by the first two.
Ford gives Ryan his patented everyman vulnerability — another "suit and tie" hero — while punching and shooting bad guys. This is a summer movie for adults that would never be made today (without more explosions). Standout scenes in this thriller include Ryan stopping the opening assassination attempt (pictured) and a silent raid on a terrorist camp that Ryan witnesses via satellite.
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