For me Without Remorse suffers from the same problem as every other Tom Clancy film adaptation; it never becomes more than a generic action story. Yes I mean that about everything from Hunt For Red October on. Little to nothing stands out for these films. Every attempt to bring Jack Ryan or, now, John Kelly, to the big screen have felt vanilla and forgettable. And Without Remorse just continues that tradition.
This one has a bit of an advantage in that it is set up to be a revenge thriller. But director Sollima has mostly sucked all the passion and energy that comes from the wronged-man-seeking-revenge genre from this story so that it feels, well, like every other Clancy-generic-spy-adventure we've seen. The very strengths the story offers are muted and Jordan's lead character feels like just another version of Jack Ryan or Ethan Hunt or Jasono Bourne. There is little to distinguish him from any other action hero.
So Without Remorse goes through the motions and delivers your standard action fare. For what it does it does okay. It's not boring and Jordan has charisma up the wazoo. So the whole thing stays entertaining enough throughout. But upon finishing it is the kind of movie that you'll forget as the credit roll.
Perhaps that's the appeal of these Clancy stories. Maybe they are designed to be generic, to feel safe and accessible for an audience that doesn't want audacity or originality but wants to know what they'll get and what they can expect. While all that might be okay it just isn't what I want.
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Jodie-Turner Smith, Colman Domingo
Director: Stefano Sollima
Writers: Taylor Sheridan, Will Staples
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