Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War Review: John Krasinski’s Film Is An Unexciting Political Thriller That Leaves You With Questions!
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War is directed by Andrew Bernstein. Here's a quick review.
1.5 / 5
Last evening, I watched the much-anticipated John Krasinski film Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War. You can get some context about the character by watching the four seasons that are currently available on Prime Video. If not, a brief overview of the show is enough, since the latest addition works as a standalone movie. Directed by Andrew Bernstein, actors Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly have reprised their roles. Sienna Miller, Khalid Laith and Max Beesley are the new additions. The film is an action thriller revolving around a dangerous mission and some past battles that the OG CIA team faces. However, NGL, the film was quite the test of our patience. Here’s a quick review.
Plot
In the last season of the show, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) had left the CIA to lead a civilian’s life. But no points for guessing, the character returns to the chaotic world in the latest film, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War. Wendell Pierce returns as Jim Greer, Jack’s former CIA boss, and Michael Kelly reprises his role as his colleague. Sienna Miller as Emma plays the role of an MI6 agent. She works as the British counterpart of Jack Ryan. Max Beesley plays Liam Crown, an antagonist in the Ghost War and a former colleague of Jim Greer. Crown is a trained soldier gone rogue, and he plans on starting a kill squad, Starlight. The missions happen across major cities like Dubai, London, and New York. The OG CIA gang come together against Crown, and Sienna Miller’s Emma also plays a crucial role in this mission. There is a lot of chasing, high-stakes and twists in the movie, but the real question is, is the film engaging?
What Doesn’t Work
The Story, Screenplay
The screenplay of this film is written by Aaron Rabin and John Krasinski, and it is all over the place. Firstly, the film tries to be nuanced, but instead, the plot ends up becoming confusing. A few minutes into the movie, one starts to feel the uneven pace and the unnecessary addition of stretched scenes. The predictable nature of the movie is another aspect that bores and bothers. There are several chase and action sequences , but nothing (except a few) seems to excite or keep us on the edge of our seats, moreover they look like fillers in the screenplay. What was promised as a political thriller is just a very dumbed-down version and continuation of the show. The story looked less like a riveting and dangerous mission and more like characters being dropped into major cities for dragged, uninformative conversations, some gunfight sequences, drone shots of the cityscape, and, at times, what also feels like an advertisement for each of them. especially Dubai.
Also, I was waiting for the moment when Jack Ryan willingly joins the CIA, keeping aside all the moral ethics and dillema that kept him away from this chaotic life. But unfortunately, the story does nothing to convince us that Jack Ryan willingly agrees to join the CIA’s mission to stop the bad men. Throughout, I wondered if there was ever a moment when he agreed to all of this!
The story does not go deep to explore the political tensions or the conflicts at hand. Even when it comes to the camaraderie among the OG characters in the show, the film fails to create an emotionally engaging watch.
Characters
If you are not familiar with the character of Jack Ryan, the latest addition to the universe may not be engaging enough to go back and learn more about this character. For most of the time, Jack Ryan is playing from the backseat, and it’s the other characters that seem to be more in the forefront this time. While John Krasinski is good, the character’s writing is weak. Sienna Miller’s Emma was supposed to be cool and badass, but the character does not check the boxes of being a strong female lead; it tries hard to be one. The OG characters of the film are also underwhelming, and even the antagonist is the victim of dull writing.
What Works?
Performances
The actors have done a good job, but the flawed writing has limited their ability to fully shine in the roles. John Krasinski as Jack Ryan brings back the charm and swag, but this time, it does not stay with you for very long. Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly are decent. Max Beesley is also honest in his role as the antagonist.
Some Action!
While there are hardly any refreshing action sequences in the film, a few of them work briefly. The gunfights and a car chase sequence add a bit of thrill to this movie-watching experience. But that’s about it.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War is releasing on May 20 on Prime Video.
First Published: May 20, 2026 1:36 AM
