‘Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse’ movie review: Michael B. Jordan enters the Ryanverse

A slick new adaptation of the Tom Clancy Ryanverse novel, Without Remorse contains some highly-charged action scenes but largely bungles its complex central storyline. While action fans are likely to be satisfied by the first-rate handling from director Stefano Sollima (Sicario: Day of the Soldado), audiences expecting a coherent narrative will be left trying to put together a puzzle with pieces that don’t fit.

Without Remorse stars Michael B. Jordan as John Kelly, a Ryanverse character previously played by Willem Dafoe in Clear and Present Danger and Liev Schreiber in The Sum of All Fears. Unlike Jack Ryan, the central figure in the Ryanverse now played by John Krasinski in the Amazon TV series of the same name (which is currently shooting in Prague), Kelly is an elite Navy SEAL more than comfortable in dangerous combat situations.

That’s a strength and a weakness in Without Remorse. The highlight of the film is a 30-minute sequence in Murmansk, Russia, that culminates with Kelly and his team pinned down in an apartment building by snipers as local police converge on the scene.

The procedural-like nature of watching Kelly and his elite team adapt to the unexpected and overcome impossible odds, paired with director Sollima’s expert handling of the kinetic action choreography, lead to one of the best set pieces in any Ryanverse film, rivalling the SUV motorcade ambush in Clear and Present Danger.

That sequence alone is almost enough to recommend Without Remorse, but the film’s human story leaves us cold. Unlike Jack Ryan, or Jordan’s portrayal of the conflicted titular character in Creed, Kelly has nowhere to grow, and we’re left with a bland lead character with zero story arc. The 90 or so minutes of the movie that lacks the kinetic action of the Murmansk sequence ultimately prove slow going.

Kelly is in Murmansk seeking revenge for the murder of his wife (Lauren London) at the hands of Russian operatives in the United States, who were apparently seeking revenge on Kelly’s SEAL team for their role in an Aleppo. It’s a fitting never-ending cycle of political violence turned very personal, but Without Remorse turns cloudy with a number of twists and turns that muddle the revenge movie narrative.

Secretary of Defense Thomas Clay (Guy Pearce) is all for Kelly’s participation in the Murmansk mission, despite the recommendation of Kelly’s superior Karen Greer (Jodie Turner-Smith, a standout here as the niece of the character played by James Earl Jones in the earlier movies) and shady CIA deputy director Bob Ritter (Jamie Bell, in a role memorably played by Henry Czerny in Clear and Present Danger).

You can probably guess where Without Remorse leads, especially if you’ve seen a previous Clancy adaptation or two. But the original novel, an origin story for the Kelly character, told a completely different story (Baltimore pimps and drug dealers instead of the Russian agents) and did a far better job of digging into Kelly’s human backstory and personal journey.

That’s important, because the novel led directly into one of Clancy’s most acclaimed works: Rainbow Six, which has already been adapted into a series of wildly successful video games. A mid-credits sequence in Without Remorse attempts to set-up a universe of future Rainbow Six movies in MCU style, but the weak character work here doesn’t exactly leave us holding our breath.

It’s a real shame, because Jordan is more than capable of playing this elite action hero, and all the other action scenes in Without Remorse – an Aleppo raid, home break-in, airport car fire, Bronson-like prison guard fight, and plane crash at sea – are also first-rate, if in smaller doses than the extended Murmansk sequence.

While Without Remorse satisfies an action movie craving, it fails to build upon the previous Clancy adaptations; along with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, this is the weakest film in the franchise. Those looking for more depth in their Ryanverse will have to wait for the third season of Jack Ryan.