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cbaker817 t1_j5z5rao wrote

S1: Introduce a new actor as Jack Ryan, and bring in the original character's origin story updated to happen in the modern day. S2: Let's make him an action hero instead. will it make sense? not really, but the actor is good as an action hero. S3: What country can we make be the bad guys without hurting overseas views? Russia? we can't afford Russian talent? then just hire whatever we can afford.

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bookant t1_j60keuc wrote

>S3: What country can we make be the bad guys without hurting overseas views?

This has basically been a huge problem with spy fiction since the end of the Cold War.

Bond films have floundered, too, not knowing what to do with themselves. Central American drug cartels? Works for a movie or two. Ditto the Russian mob. Then it's basically variations of the "Dr. Evil" - private villain who wants to take over the world. Rupert Murdoch standin is trying to start a war because it would profitable or something.

By the last few Craig movies we're down to soap opera garbage like "the villain is Bond's long lost brother."

The huge mistake Bond films made IMHO was not making "Casino Royale" a reboot back to the proper time period. They could be doing cold war period pieces now. Maybe even actually faithful adaptations of the original books.

Ditto Jack Ryan. How much cooler would it be if the series worked up to "Red October" and beyond. Work your way through the books faithfully and you've just created the action/espionage equivalent to "Game of Thrones."

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Why_Did_Bodie_Die t1_j62fatc wrote

Something I have never understood at all is why so many movies based on books change the whole story around. To me it is so confusing. You have a great book. There is. Whole story in there and all you have to do is film it. It is just so weird.

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staedtler2018 t1_j63bog9 wrote

>You have a great book. There is. Whole story in there and all you have to do is film it.

You cannot, in fact, do this. Certainly not for any book that is actually "great."

Even for simple books there are budget considerations, pacing, clarity, the interests of the actors, etc.

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cbaker817 t1_j60su3l wrote

that would have been a great idea. it would have given years of stories and conflict that are baked in. reference the movies that already were made as you progress through the timeline. The world building is there, it just takes someone willing to commit to it. I imagine they could have done most of the same character's stories and arcs in a modern timeline without losing the character.

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Chataboutgames t1_j5z7jfp wrote

I was hoping making Russians the bad guys would be a return to form as that was the bread and butter of the genre but no, it's the same "Jack Ryan shoots his way across the world with his wisecracking buddy"

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cbaker817 t1_j5zaqza wrote

you are right. Amazon has the right to all of Clancy's books, so going back to spy thriller and bringing in the other characters and story threads seems like a natural plan. my hope was something like. S3 opens up with Jack catching the trail of something going on in Russia, reaches out to the resident spook in Moscow, her name is Foley. they start working the Intel. find out we need to get into an (insert very secure place), and we send in Sam Fisher to retrieve the info. season finally has Mr. Clark comes in to do the actual shooting.

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orangemaroon25 t1_j5zn1jw wrote

I mean, did you see what Amazon already did to Mr Clark in their Without Remorse?

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cbaker817 t1_j5zr8xe wrote

I heard it was good, but not like the original character. haven't had the heart to watch one of my favorite characters get ruined.

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Cyrano_Nose t1_j62a8n4 wrote

Writers missed the opportunity (just in my opinion) to have some True Lies moments with Ryans girlfriend/future wife.

They touched on it with the helicopter ride out of the party and the sudden meeting about the pandemic, but I really wish they'd have done more with it.

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djcorygrr t1_j6c728u wrote

It’s one of the biggest budget shows. They have the money for Russian talent, but it was a call made because Americans don’t really do subtitles. What tv shows do you watch with extensive subtitles?

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cbaker817 t1_j6c8ii0 wrote

The budget remark was meant as a jab at the production. Amazon is not known for being cheap when budgeting for their shows. As to subtitles, both previous seasons of this show had subtitles for the non English-speaking characters. and I see it rather frequently. the NCIS shows and Madam Secretary are the two most recent that I have watched.

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