It confirms Noyce as an accomplished voice in the thriller genre after arriving with dead calm in 1989
Aided by a booming James Horner score and supremely gifted ensemble (Ford, Anne Archer, Richard Harris, Earl Jones, Sean Bean, James Fox, Samuel L. Jackson)
Bean probably comes off the best next to Ford- he’s absolutely fierce and scary here playing the antagonist to the perfect man and family (does archer play anything but the dutiful wife?)
Taut good vs. evil—the elevated political themes are dressing – this is a straight genre film
Clancy novel
Great shot of Ford’s eyes in close-up after the seeing smoke and the accident of his wife in the car
Ford is great at this sturdy presidential figure of a man—I like Baldwin in red october in 1990 but like Ford more in the Jack Ryan role
Can’t help but think of fatal attraction with Archer here
Part wargames with some of the technology modern warfare sequences
Night-vision climax (actually it’s the beginning of the climax—hthe climax is like 20 minutes long and it’s very strong) from 1991’s silence of the lambs
Boat case sea climax finale like dead calm– very nicely done special effects- has agred well
Recommend but not really close to the top 10 of 1992. Closer to the fringe
[…] Patriot Games – Noyce […]