Intermission: 'Sum of All Fears' signals return to mega-action films

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|bold_on|"The Sum of All Fears"|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Directed By: Phil Alden Robinson|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Starring: Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Rated: PG-13|ret||ret||tab|

"The Sum of All Fears," the latest film to be made from a Tom Clancy novel, will be thought by some as an exploitation of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Others may see it as a return to normalcy in the arena of big-budget, mega-action films that Hollywood has used as a cash cow for many years. |ret||ret||tab|

Since it was approved, written, and already well into production by September of last year, the former can't be true. The fact that it has been released on schedule points to the fact that the latter may be closer to reality. |ret||ret||tab|

"Spiderman" was put on hold for a few months while shots of the Twin Towers were digitally removed from the film, for fear the viewing public would deem them a cheap shot. "Spiderman," like "Sum," was well into production when the tragedy struck, but in Hollywood, maybe even more so than in politics, perception is more important than the reality of a situation. I guess that makes sense, in that movies are about escapism and fantasy.|ret||ret||tab|

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Changes|ret||ret||tab|

There are some things in this film that have been changed from the book (again, done so before 9-11).|ret||ret||tab|

Most notably, the nature of the "bad guys." |ret||ret||tab|

These folks are Arab terrorists in the book. In the film they are portrayed as everyone's favorite standby villains neo-Nazis. |ret||ret||tab|

Granted, they're bad guys all right, but I don't really see any global coalition of fourth Reich mentality, as much as pockets of hate groups spread around the globe and spouting their views on the Internet. |ret||ret||tab|

In this version of Jack Ryan's (the main character in the Clancy books) universe, he looks like Ben Affleck rather than Alec Baldwin or Harrison Ford as he has before. Ryan gets called in when the Russian president drops dead and is replaced by Nemerov, a supposed hard-line communist and a guy Ryan has studied in depth. |ret||ret||tab|

Subplots|ret||ret||tab|

While this is going on, a band of super-rich neo-Nazi's have gotten their hands on a long-lost nuclear bomb, one that was supplied by the United States to Israel for one of their wars in the 1970s. |ret||ret||tab|

It's not just enough to have a nuclear device, you have to make it workable and the neo-Nazis are going about this by paying off a team of disgruntled Russian scientists. They are also going about some other things in Russia to make it look as if Nemerov is determined to do things his way, the rest of the world be damned.|ret||ret||tab|

Ryan finds himself in the president of the United States' inner circle although no one seems to like him or listen to him. The United States finds Nemerov's apparent actions disconcerting and the cold war returns and begins to get a bit warm. |ret||ret||tab|

This, of course, has all been planned by the neo-Nazis who also plan to blow up a major American city and make it look like the Russians were behind it. Then it's WWIII, the major powers wipe each other out and hello thousand-year Reich.|ret||ret||tab|

As in every film of this genre, much of the action is implausible, but Clancy goes to great depth in some details. Scenes, such as the launch sequence protocol, the meetings aboard Air Force One and the way the presidents both American and Russian are being advised by people with varying points of view, have a ring of truth about them not found in the works of lesser writers.|ret||ret||tab|

Another great subplot shows a secret CIA operative, played by the excellent Liev Schreiber, globe-trotting undercover to get to the root of the matter. This character and Schreiber's portrayal were the most satisfying in the film.|ret||ret||tab|

What used to be seen as sheer entertainment, thrillers such as "The Sum of All Fears," are being viewed in a much different light. |ret||ret||tab|

Not only because of the World Trade Center attacks and our subsequent efforts with that situation, but also because we wake each day and find we're one step closer to that inevitable day when someone, somewhere will do the unthinkable.|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)|ret||ret||tab|

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