Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season Three

John Krasinski is back as CIA operative Jack Ryan for his next globe-trotting espionage thriller. After learning that a Russian faction are constructing a nuclear weapon, Ryan has only seven days to put a stop to a chain of events that will result in the next world war. But after he’s framed as a set-up in the first episode, this time Ryan is forced to go rogue and has the Russians and CIA hot on his tail. The stakes are higher than ever, and the action comes as thick and fast as the many twists. However, the latest entry in Amazon’s Tom Clancy series lacks the urgency and impact needed to match its high-octane premise.

The show wastes no time getting to the point. Within minutes, audiences are setting out on the first steps of the protagonist’s mission to recover the Russian weapon, with a handful of new revelations adding further intrigue to the situation. Likewise, a subplot involving the tense relationship between the Czech and Russian ministers of defence alongside a parallel plotline set in Soviet Russia only adds to the scope of the drama. A lot is happening all at once from the outset, with most of the information being doled out in very serious conversations. It’s a case of consistently spoon-feeding key plot points to viewers to keep the pace moving, which isn’t particularly exciting.

Between the exposition-heavy dialogue, the opening episodes are punctuated with a handful of cinematic action sequences that include a stealthy operation on a cargo ship and high-speed car chases. While presented with slick cinematography, the variety of set-pieces on offer will be familiar territory to anyone who’s seen an action film. Little is done to set these scenes apart from the crowd, and it feels like the show’s simply going through the motions to fill a studio-mandated action quota. Similarly, none of the scenes have any sense of weight behind them. Equally as unimpactful as the firefights are the show’s attempts at political commentary in which the script dances around the situation in Ukraine.

Despite its glossy presentation and fast-paced drama, Jack Ryan’s next adventure falls flat thanks to its onslaught of underwhelming set-pieces and compulsion to hold the viewer’s hand throughout its twisting plotline.

Andrew Murray

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season Three is released on Amazon Prime Video on 21^st December 2022.

Watch the trailer for Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season Three here: