Reacher Meets Jack Ryan In Taylor Sheridan's Underrated 2021 Action Thriller

2 weeks ago 14

This intense Taylor Sheridan thriller is a combination of Reacher and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. While Taylor Sheridan's TV show empire has taken most of his attention in the past few years, he broke out thanks to his acclaimed movie scripts. Sheridan became hot stuff following Sicario and Wind River, which led him to pen screenplays for a bunch of movies.

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse's arrival on Amazon Prime caused some confusion when it debuted, considering the streamer also produced Jack Ryan. In short, the film has zero connection to the show and was never intended to, though the absence of Ryan in the film left the door slightly open for the character to appear in a future movie.

Without Remorse arrived amidst the pandemic to mixed reviews, and appears to have been largely memory-holed. That's a shame, since Jordan's performance and Sheridan's screenplay make it worth a second look. That's not even mentioning some great action setpieces, including a prison brawl where Clark takes on a team of guards clad in riot gear.

Taylor Sheridan's Without Remorse Explores The Darker Side Of The Jack Ryan Universe

Clancy designed Ryan as an everyman take on James Bond, and every Jack Ryan movie adaptation followed that approach. Ryan might deal with messy geopolitics and terrorist attacks, but at his core, he just wants to get home to his wife and kids.

Without Remorse really dives into the murk inherent in the Ryanverse, with the death of Clark's wife setting him on a single-minded revenge mission. While far from a flawless movie, Jordan's performance truly elevates it. Clark is so overcome with grief and rage that he becomes blinded to the conspiracy going on around him.

The other Ryan adaptations tended to have some humor to them, but Sheridan's screenplay strips that away. What's left is a taut thriller about a soldier who will go to any extreme to see justice is done. Needless to say, it's a much darker outing than Prime's actual Jack Ryan show, but it's easy to recommend to fans of Reacher, too.

Like the latter, Without Remorse is also a conspiracy thriller about a hyper-capable man of action who can pull off near superhuman feats. While the story itself - which heavily deviates from Clancy's source novel - is nothing new, it also leads to some thrilling setpieces.

Without Remorse Could Still Become A Franchise

Michael B Jordan holding a rifle and looking serious in Without Remorse

Even though Without Remorse walked away with a bruising from critics (it stands at 45% on Rotten Tomatoes), even the worst reviews conceded its biggest strength: Michael B. Jordan. He was perfect casting for Clark, with the movie also ending with a major tease for a sequel based on Clancy's Rainbow Six.

Will Staples was Taylor Sheridan's co-writer on Tom Clancy's Without Remorse.

The book is best known now for the video game series it spawned, but it has yet to receive a live-action adaptation. That could still change, as Jordan and director Chad Stahelski (John Wick) were once set to turn Rainbow Six into a film. Given the star power of both star and director, this Without Remorse sequel could still come together - but it's starting to look doubtful.

Jordan's career is thriving thanks to the likes of Sinners, while Stahelski has the Highlander reboot and a possible John Wick: Chapter 5 on his plate. In all likelihood, the window for a Without Remorse sequel has passed. It's been five years since the original was released, and while it's a solid action flick, it hasn't left much of a cultural impact.

If a Rainbow Six adaptation does come together, it will probably be a standalone. Still, fans of Tom Clancy, Michael B. Jordan or Taylor Sheridan would do well to give Without Remorse a chance.