Search - The Sum of All Fears [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

Samuel K. (Solvanda)
Reviewed on 11/25/2018...

When we contemplate nuclear weapons, I think generally what comes to people's minds are the 2 which were dropped on Japanese civilian populations. That was only 65 years ago. However, what most folks don't have clearly in mind is that since the first test of Gadget at Trinity in 1945...The Powers that Be in this World (as well as God (for the time being, anyways)) have allowed at least 2,038 nuclear bombs to be tested underground and under the ocean, above ground and sea, and in the atmosphere of this planet. The ridiculously complicated problems these double-edged swords represent for our planet is something which mankind has never had to deal with until only the last few decades...and in that very short amount of time nations have accumulated peak stockpiles of approximately 65,000 warheads worldwide. The probability that one of these bombs will explode again in our (near?) future seems to be inevitable when considering these statistics. Yes, I know. It's morose.

This issue is what 'The Sum of All Fears' addresses. Well written, engaging script...hardly noticed that 2 hours had elapsed. I much approved of the fact that the creators of the film chose to visually show a nuclear detonation. These are good reminders for the public that this threat is still very real. Many films and television shows do not get to this point and plot tension revolves around the avoidance of the hypothetical disaster...with no disaster ever occuring. 'The Sum of All Fears' found a way to work in both scenarios...although, I was left with a bit of a bad taste in the mouth from the fact that the effects of the blast were largely ignored in script. Other films in the past have worked in much of this sort of material, and are, as result, I think, more deterrent. (e.g.: The Day After, Black Rain, Jericho (which examined sociological repercussions), and Threads (which makes all the rest of these genre entries look like musicals.)

Before this review gets too lengthy...let's conclude with a few brief words from a man who lived through the reality: "I learned that the nuclear weapons which gnaw the minds and bodies of human beings should never be used. Even the slightest idea of using nuclear arms should be completely exterminated from the minds of human beings. Otherwise, we will repeat the same tragedy. And we will never stop being ashamed of ourselves." Hiroshi Sawachika.

Fun and suspenseful

Robert Jordan | San Diego, CA | 04/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a hard-core Tom Clancy fan and was surprised to see how much this latest film adaptation wandered from the book, but it was still very entertaining. The latest incarnation of Jack Ryan is very young and inexperienced. The film seems to pretend the other Jack Ryan adventures haven't happened. Jack is new with the CIA and doesn't know the ropes the way he does in the book. He isn't even married yet. Morgan Freeman is wonderful as his boss (no surprise there) and the relationship between them is the best part of the film. I'm no expert, but there seemed to be some technical flaws which required that the viewer suspend their skepticism. (Would cell phones continue to work when your local area has been hit by a nuke?) Still a worthy addition to the series. Clancy's readers will have to be especially open-minded though."

Politically correct Tom Clancy

John | 09/27/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I watched this the other night, and can't believe how politically correct it is. The bad guys are Austrians, Isrealis, and, indirectly, the U.S. military-industrial complex. I wonder what Tom Clancy thinks about that. Muslims are just innocent bystanders, and the liberals save the day, because war is all just a misunderstanding, or is caused by European nazis. This movie is shameless political correctness. The film is actually excellent, but I give it only two stars for the tired leftwing cliches. If they had filmed it based on Clancy's novel, it would have been great. I think Hollywood just copped out and got scared of portraying the Muslims as "the enemy", and so did what they always do: just turn the bad guys into white nazis. South Africans are no longer available, so they went to the "default": Austrians (guys, World War II is over)."

I can't believe that Clancy. . .

David Zampino | Delavan, Wisconsin | 11/27/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

". . .actually approved of what was done to his outstanding book. The changing of the "bad guys" from Islamic extremists to Neo-Nazis was unbelievable, and detracted from the message of the story to such a degree as to make the film, in the mind of this reviewer, not worth much at all.Call me a purist, but I really dislike this sort of revisionism.Read the book; give the movie a miss."