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Sometimes you just want a cheeseburger. And sometimes that cheeseburger is a Jack Ryan movie. Alasdair Stuart examines Ryan’s return…

Tom Clancy’s basically immortal CIA analyst turned Good Man In A Bad World is on his fifth or so head now and while previous versions have been fun (Baldwin and Affleck especially), John Krasinski is now the longest serving Ryan. So much so in fact that when the Jack Ryan TV show finished, it actually gave him a specific send off, notionally heading to civilian life.

Ask Ethan Hunt how that went, buddy.

Anyway, Ryan returns! Which is slightly less obvious than Jack’s Back! In Ghost War, a movie coming to Amazon Prime shortly. There isn’t much in the trailer, but here’s some fun spots.

0.01 – Iconic Lighting Ahoy

Ryan walking out of a shadowed corridor towards Wendell Pierce’s James Greer in the light sure seems indicative doesn’t it?

0.06 – Greenwich Explodes A Lot

That sure seems to be Greenwich getting blown up and something filmed there in about the right time slot for this last year…

0.09 – DON’T YOU DARE

I don’t think they’re offing Greer. I hope not, especially given James Earl Jones’ work in the role was iconic and Wendell Pierce is just as good and seems to be in the rest of the movie. Besides, it’s 2026 and even if everything else is on fire, surely, SURELY we’re not killing a non-white main character for motivation, right? Right? Guys?

0.13 – ‘Whatever it is, I’m not doing it.’

The look of a man who is in fact already doing it.

0.16 – Max!

Max Beesley, everyone, a favourite character actor in these parts. I’m guessing Greer’s fine given he seems to be facing off with him, but this particular staredown certainly implies they know one another of old.

0.22 – Doing the Winter Soldier Boogie

This run and gun car case through the centre of London looks pleasingly burly. Nice to see Greer pulling from the Nick Fury school of Always Bulletproof Glass too.

0.25 – ‘I said I wasn’t doing it!’

Oh Jack. Little buddy. Which is what Greer’s clearly thinking.

0.34 – ‘You nervous?’

Slicked back hair, suits, lanyards. Looks like they’re en route to a briefing.

0.43 – Burj Khalifa

At least three cities then. Also notice the tactical convoy on the road. Two police cars, a jeep and a sports car. I wonder who this is?

0.46 – Sienna Miller

Miller’s one of those actors you’re always happy to see, especially outside her usual genres like this. According to the official synopsis, she’s Jack’s “unlikely new partner – razor-sharp MI6 officer Emma Marlowe”.

0.48 – The weird beauty of horrific helicopter violence

This shot’s just really pretty. I’m also not sure where it is although given the train just visible in the centre bottom, I suspect we’re still in London at this point.

And there you go! We’ve also seen confirmation that Michael Kelly’s in this so Mike November returns. My sincere hope is that the best gag in the entire series, which involves Mike, Jack doing something stupid, and a coffee shop gets a callback.

Credits

Krasinski being on the writing team here makes a ton of sense. He was a major part of the A Quiet Place movies’ scripts, which are great and IF, which is by all accounts less great. Noah Oppenheim wrote Nobody 2 which is ridiculously good fun and This Light Rains, about a soldier bringing his family together before he deploys. So the dude can do big burly action and emotion, both of which bode well.

Andrew Bernstein’s a relative newcomer in the longform director’s chair but has directed episodes of your favourite US TV show in recent years. Honestly, he probably has, his credits are ridiculous.

The movie hits Prime Video on May 20th so you’ve got plenty of time to catch up with the show. But be prepared for the Venezuela stuff in Season 2 to feel a bit unpleasant these days.