Four well-known actors have portrayed Jack Ryan on the big screen, including Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin. Now John Krasinski steps into the role of the famous CIA agent in the titular JACK RYAN, a new series on Amazon Prime Video that has already been renewed for a second season.
Krasinski plays Ryan at the onset of his in-the-field career. A former solider who enjoys rowing, this Ryan is sitting behind a desk at the CIA and trying to track down terrorists by following their money. A mild-manner analyst, he’s frustrated when James Greer (played by Wendell Pierce) becomes his unit’s new boss and doesn’t seem to take Ryan’s warnings about a new terrorist leader seriously. Greer has been demoted into this position and clearly doesn’t relish his new job, but he proves that he isn’t as crusty as he appears when he decides to take one of Jack’s warnings seriously and recruits him into the field in Europe. The men are then trying to track down a terrorist named Suleiman — a man who could conceivably become the new Osama Bin Laden.
In the Middle East we meet Suleiman, and his wife Hanin. While their relationship starts out happy, it soon becomes clear to the viewer that she is terrified of her the more she realizes what he’s been up to. And that’s when she makes a break for it, running away with her two daughters. But her son, who is enamoured with his father, stays behind and notifies his father of his mother’s escape. Desperate to save her son, Hani’s path eventually leads her to Jack.
JACK RYAN spends a good time away from the show’s main character, flushing out the backstory of the criminals that Ryan is trying to capture and giving them believable backstories for their choices, even if their actions are abhorrent. In fact, it may be a bit surprising to fans how often this shifting focus occurs. Nevertheless, JACK RYAN is a solid spy thriller and Krasinski ably performs in the title role, bringing vulnerability, ingenuity and action to the show. Abbie Cornish also stars in the series as Cathy, an accomplished doctor and the daughter of one of Ryan’s ex-bosses. When she catches his eye at her father’s birthday party, Ryan shyly pursues her.
The first season of JACK RYAN is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video on August 31.