Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
Jack Ryan season 1 is being reviewed as a whole due to the show having more akin to a long film than a TV show.
Jack Ryan season 1: Is the newest attempt to bring author Tom Clancy’s famed and iconic literary CIA Analyst and American Hero back to the screen. Previous actors to play Ryan have been Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine. After the last two motion pictures failed at the box office, Amazon relaunched Jack Ryan as a TV show that will showcase Ryan in his first years as a CIA operative. Played by John Krasinski of the Office fame. The show is hyper serialized in that its 8 episodes flow like a movie, not a TV show. Its debut season finds Ryan following a money trail to a mysterious terrorist leader known only as Suleiman who seeks to unleash his rage on the west.
Under The Lens: Editing and Suleiman
Editing: Jack Ryan is a masterfully put together show, its pacing, action, score, and acting are all at the hight of television. However, where the program really shines is its editing. A show lives and dies by its edits, as it is editing that holds a whole program together. Jack Ryan is superbly edited, its cuts, fades and scene trimming is done to perfection, and keeps the show on point and moving in the direction it needs to go in. There is zero fat, and each scene goes as long as it needs to without sacrificing pacing or story.
Suleiman: Played by Ali Suliman, the terrorist mastermind is a brilliant character study of radicalization, rage, and revenge. While many may view him as a run of the mill middle eastern radical, he has not portrayed this way at all. The writers brilliantly lured the viewer into feeling sympathy for Suleiman, only to rip that rug out from under them with his acts of utter barbarity. In the end, he is a three dimensional and well-rounded villain, who has well thought out motivations that make sense within the universe of the show.
Highlights
John Krasinski is a very charismatic lead and manages to play both a battle-hardened vet and a wet behind the ears analyst believably.
The scenes of terrorism and violence are very well shot and leave the viewer unsettled, they showcase that real people with real lives are being terminated needlessly.
The pace is relentless and the season feels much more like a movie than a show, and the quality is also movielike.
Something to think about
Do you prefer shows like Jack Ryan to be serialized or episodic?
Conclusion
Jack Ryan is a superbly made TV drama, that manages to develop both its heroes and villains in a believable way. With a good cast leading the way and a relentless pace, Jack Ryan leaves the viewer gasping for breath with every twist and turn. The rather overdone story of Islamic extremism is handled in such a way as to put a fresh spin on it while also not vilifying a whole religion.
