Jack Ryan (2018)

Yes, it surprised me too that I saw this new season essentially when it came out.  We had late arriving guests for Labor Day weekend, which gave us a big start into the series, and I have to say that while there were things that were too gruesome for me to sit and watch (I have a low tolerance for that), it was well done and well acted as these action adventure things go.

The Ryan character has been played on film by imposing presences like Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford, but in keeping with recent tradition, where a younger actor steps in, John Krasinski embodies a Ryan who’s out of his depth.  This Ryan is assured of little but his own fallibility; he’s aware of his weaknesses — and is able to play against them — in a manner hardly befitting a screen super-spy.

Putting forward his theory about a potential terror cataclysm being hatched in Yemen, Ryan seems defeated but hardly surprised that he’s ignored. More than any big-screen idol one could imagine in the part, Krasinski has practice and expertise at playing a low man on the totem pole. His Ryan stands out for his welcome lack of swagger.

The agent is eventually heard, the story progresses and I look forward to a second season.