Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: The Complete Series 4K Review (Paramount)

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is a 2018 spy television series that started in 2018 created by Carlton Cuse (Locke and Key, Five Days at Memorial, Colony, The Strain, Lost, Bates Motel, and Nash Bridges) and Graham Roland (Dark Winds, Fringe, Almost Human, The Returned, and Mile 22). It’s directed by Jann Turner (S.W.A.T., 9-1-1, The Resident, Chicago Fire, and Scandal), Patricia Riggen (The 33, Miracles from Heaven, Dopesick, and Saint X), Daniel Sackheim (House, The X-Files, NYPD Blue, Life, Lie to Me, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and True Detective), Andrew Bernstein (Ozark, The Outsider, Fear the Walking Dead, Psych, Mad Men, and E.R.), Dennie Gordon (Warrior, Goliath, Waco, Legion, The Practice, Hell on Wheels, Burn Notice, and Suits), and many others. It’s based on the iconic book franchise from author Tom Clancy (Clear and Present Danger, The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, The Sum of All Fears, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Rainbow Six, and Without Remorse). It was produced by filmmaker Michael Bay (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Transformers franchise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, The Purge franchise, A Quiet Place franchise, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Amityville Horror, and The Hitcher). Jack Ryan lasted 4: seasons. It aired on Amazon Prime. Low-level CIA financial analyst Jack Ryan (played by: John Krasinski from The Office, A Quiet Place franchise, 13 Hours, Aloha, Jarhead, Away We Go, and Nobody Walks) comes to believe that $9 million of unusual financial transactions are connected to a new Yemeni terrorist known as Suleiman (played by: Ali Suliman from The Kingdom, Body of Lies, and Lone Survivor). Jack meets medical doctor Cathy Mueller (played by: Abbie Cornish from Candy, Sucker Punch, RoboCop, Seven Psychopaths, Limitless, and Stop-Loss) at a social function before he is collected by helicopter and then taken via a plane to Yemen by James Greer (played by: Wendell Pierce from Suits, The Wire, Horrible Bosses, Chicago P.D., Ray Donovan, The Gift, and Ray), his new boss in the Terror, Finance, and Arms Division (T-FAD) of the CIA. In Season 2, Jack Ryan searches for the truth behind Venezuela’s transactions with various World Powers. James Greer finds out about a satellite that launched from a contact in Moscow. Greer suffers from a heart condition and is threatened to be restricted to a desk. Greer requests a change of station to Venezuela so he can investigate more into it. Jack and Senator Jamie Moreno (played by: Benito Martinez from The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, American Crime, House of Cards, and The Blacklist) meet with President Nicolas Reyes (played by: Jordi Mollà from Riddick, Bad Boys II, and Criminal) in Venezuela to discuss what the U.S. believes to be a shipment of nuclear weapons that is being hidden in the jungle of Venezuela. The president denies all involvement. A dangerous assassin Max Schenkel (played by: Tom Wlaschiha from Game of Thrones, Crossing Lines, and Stranger Things) is hired to take out anyone looking into this shady situation. Greer tells Ryan that they are looking at the same ship for their cases. Ryan ends up sleeping with Harriet Baumann (played by: Noomi Rapace from Prometheus, Django, Child 44, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Girl Trilogy, Dead Man Down, and Bright), a mysterious woman with her own intentions. The head of the security detail that was paid off returns home to find his family murdered after the chaos that he sets in motion. In 1969, a secret project to develop a nuclear weapon Sokol is deactivated. Under the orders of Luka Gocharov (played by: James Cosmo from Game of Thrones, Braveheart, Highlander, and Troy), all of the project scientists are killed. In the present for Season 3, Jack Ryan learns that Sokol has been reactivated, and a 3-megaton nuclear weapon has already been developed. He receives a tip from an asset Zoya Ivanova (played by: Ana Ularu from Emerald City and Inferno). Jack believes that Sokol is part of an older Soviet war plan to start confusion in Europe. After leading a team to the ship, he discovers that the payload is a Sokol project scientist Yuri Bashkin (played by: Michael Epp from The Beekeeper and Secret Invasion). He is trying to defect from Russia. They go to Greece but they are quickly ambushed. It’s led by a Russian spy Konstantin Vyatkin (played by: Anton Pampushnyy from The Guardians and Coma). Jack escapes, he calls Greer and Elizabeth Wright (played by: Betty Gabriel from Get Out, Upgrade, The Purge: Election Year, Westworld, and It Lives Inside). They inform him that Jack that he is wanted for killing a Greek police officer. Jack is forced to flee and handle everything on his own. In Prague, Czech president Alena Kovac (played by: Nina Hoss from Tar, A Most Wanted Man, and Homeland) meets with the Russian Defense Minister Popov (played by: Michael Gor from Die Another Day, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and Hunter Killer). Jack tries to solve everything with limited help and almost no support while being chased by his own people. In Season 4, CIA Director Elizabeth Wright and her acting Deputy Director Jack Ryan, report to the US president that the president of Nigeria has been assassinated. Jack testifies to a US Senate committee that the CIA may have been involved. The Marquez (played by: Diego Wallraff from Tatort and Professor T) cartel has eliminated its last direct competitor in Mexico. Domingo Chavez (played by: Michael Peña from the Ant-Man franchise, American Hustle, 12 Strong, End of Watch, Fantasy Island, The Mule, Shooter, The Shield, and Million Dollar Baby), Marquez’s cousin is informed by Lieutenant Marales of the Mexican Federal police that the authorities consider the cartel weakened and are preparing to raid the cartel’s laboratory. Chao Fah (played by: Louis Ozawa from Hunters and Supergirl), a representative of an Asian triad meets with Marquez to make a deal with the cartel. Jack collects documentation for nine mysterious operations. Ryan and Wright decide to stop funding these secret operations. Jack reconnects with former love interest Doctor Cathy Mueller. Chavez threats Jack in his own home but he lets him live. He demands that he must restore funding for the closed operations within 24 hours. This sets up a chain of chaotic reactions, Jack knows that he needs to investigate this further. He asks Chavez, Greer, and Mike November (played by: Michael Kelly from House of Cards, Dawn of the Dead, Man of Steel, Criminal Minds, The Sopranos, Now You See Me, and Law Abiding Citizen) for help to uncover these suspicious missions and the powerful people behind them!!!! Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan takes the iconic character and books to a whole new level. It’s nice to see Jack Ryan get some more time to develop with this thrilling television series. Tom Clancy’s world gets a chance to expand more rather than being crammed into a full length feature. The first season is my personal favorite from the television show. It’s a great origin story to the main character. You get to see Jack Ryan go from a desk guy to someone who’s dangerous in the field. I like how the mystery of his past slowly turns up and it really shows you what he’s really capable of. John Krasinski is top notch as the C.I.A analyst that’s mainly known for his office work but he’s given a chance to prove himself to his government. He goes from normal guy to bad ass quick, it’s an easy transition for Jack Ryan. Wendell Pierce is great as Jack’s boss. He’s former high command leader with a troubled past and this is basically his last chance to show his worth to the agency. These two have amazing chemistry throughout the entire run. Their work relationship and teamwork changed their lives as they go on these deadly secret missions. The beautiful Abbie Cornish plays Cathy Mueller. She’s the love interest for our hero Ryan. They have an interesting relationship during this show. It’s a shame that she wasn’t involved in a few seasons. I feel like she really elevated Jack Ryan with her presence. I cared more when she was around. She’s one of the best and most underrated aspects of the series. I think I am the opposite to most fans of Jack Ryan when it comes to Season 2. I thought it was solid but compared to the previous one it’s not even close. It goes a completely different direction and tries to be something else. I did enjoy that it was very personal for the Jack Ryan character so his motivation was unstoppable. I really liked the performances from Noomi Rapace, Tom Wlaschiha, Benito Martinez, Michael Kelly, and Jordi Mollà here. Don’t get me wrong, there’s not a bad season in this entire show but it’s probably my least favorite. Season 3 was a solid mix of the previous 2 seasons when it came to the feel of it. Jack Ryan continued to be even more action packed and the suspense was excellent. Betty Gabriel shows up here as Elizabeth Wright and she ends up being one of the most important characters in the entire franchise. She’s fantastic in Jack Ryan, her performance is nothing like some of her previous roles in a variety of horror features. She’s a chameleon, she can do anything and she transforms into something completely different with each project. The Final Season which is 4 is a close second to being my favorite season despite it being the shortest one. Season 4 felt very personal and I enjoyed that vibe of it. It was awesome to see Abbie Cornish come back and she added to the intense story line for the finale. Killing machine Domingo Chavez played by Michael Peña steals the show here. He was my favorite character during 4, I would love to see a future project with his role later on. This gets brutal and it’s a nice revenge plot to really grab your attention. There’s some really impressive twists in the series including this, the writing is a pure adrenaline rush. Jack Ryan has an incredible supporting cast that includes Ali Suliman, Michael Kelly, Diego Wallraff, Nina Hoss, James Cosmo, Peter Guinness, Jovan Adepo, Timothy Hutton, Michael O’Neill, Arnold Vosloo, Matt McCoy, John Magaro, Al Sapienza, Lee Tergesen, and Frank Whaley. I’m glad Jack Ryan was able to end on it’s own terms and it tied everything up nicely. It’s one of the better action and spy television shows in recent years. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Paramount Pictures! Season 1 has an 2160p (1.78:1) transfer with HDR10, Season 2 has an 2160p (2.00:1) transfer with HDR10, Season 3 has an 2160p (2.10:1) transfer with HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and Season 4 has an 2160p (2.10:1) transfer with HDR10 and Dolby Vision on all 30 episodes on 8 UHDs. Every season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan looks great but 3 and 4 stand out the most when it comes to this complete series home video release. Season 1 and 2 have English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks. Season 3 and 4 have English: Dolby Atmos and English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks. The first two seasons sound great but the last two seasons are even better. This action packed show really tests your home set up and sound system. All of the dialogue is crisp, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English and English SDH subtitles on every disc. The only extras are a variety of “Deleted Scenes” from the entire series that are around a little over 34 minutes. I’m kinda surprised that there’s nothing else from all those seasons included on here. I will say that the packaging is a little odd for this complete series set. It’s similar to a DVD box set rather than the smaller 4K style. Regardless, this is a great way to own every season from Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan at a great price. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!