WITHOUT REMORSE (2021) **

Amazon had a hit with that Jack Ryan TV show, so they doubled down on the Tom Clancy by greenlighting this movie.  I’ve never seen the Jack Ryan show, so I can’t say whether or not it will be connected, but it definitely feels more like a TV show than a real motion picture.  That’s not a knock really against the flick.  It’s just that it doesn’t feel all that cinematic.  The overly familiar plot and underwhelming action only highlight that fact. 

Michael B. Jordan stars as John Kelly, a Special Forces soldier whose wife and unborn child are murdered in a hit intended for him.  He soon goes out for revenge on the people responsible.  With a set-up like that, this should’ve played like gangbusters, but Sicario 2 director Stefano Sollima just sort of phones it in when it comes to the action.  There’s nothing terribly wrong with it, mind you.  He keeps the camera still, which is always a plus.  However, there’s nothing here that will get your fist pumping.  

I’m a sucker for a good revenge movie, but somehow, it all just sort of fizzles out.  There are moments here that not only crib from Death Wish, but also Mission:  Impossible (the scenes where Jordan’s team members are bumped off) and Bronson (there’s a prison cell fight where Jordan single-handedly takes on a bunch of guards).  These moments are competently handled.  It’s just you’ve seen it all before and done better elsewhere. 

Without Remorse also pales in comparison to the other Clancy adaptations that came before.  Those films carried themselves with a bit more self-importance, even if they were just dressed up action movies for dads. This one drops the pretension, but it fails to deliver on the fun.   

Jordan delivers a strong performance.  He deserves much better.  His Fantastic Four co-star Jamie Bell also shows up playing a two-faced CIA agent, but he looks more like a geeky intern than a two-faced government official.  Heck, even the usually-game Guy Pearce looks kind of bored. 

I guess this is like the monkey paw version of an action movie.  Every time I see an action flick filled with jerky camerawork and ADD editing, I groan. Here’s one in which the action is captured in a competent and clear manner, but the film itself is inert and by the numbers.  It also doesn’t help that it doesn’t have a big finale to give its hero a proper send-off.  Make sure you stick around for the Avengers-style set-up for a sequel.  I won’t be holding my breath for it to come to fruition, that’s for sure.  

This movie has been in the works for a while.  I remember it first being announced around the same time Clear and Present Danger was released.  (Jordan is playing the same character Willem Dafoe played in that flick, and who was later portrayed by Liev Schreiber in The Sum of All Fears.)  If the final product is any indication, Without Remorse probably deserved to stay on the back burner.