While often pushing the limits of fictional action-thrillers in the world of espionage, Prime Video series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan was one I savoured. With an impressive John Krasinski in the title role, four seasons of intelligence agency escapism provided us with a watchable world, with key characters who felt lived in and reasonably relatable. When the last season ended, you wondered if a movie might be in the works, so I readily accepted the invitation to investigate Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War for myself, just before its release this week.

Endeavouring to emulate the Tom Cruise and 007 model, this is slightly a global adventure, taking us from NYC to Dubai, to London. Krasinski returns as the titular character, together with Wendell Pierce‘s sullen yet effective James Greer, Michael Kelly‘s all-in Mike November, plus the addition of a sharp Sienna Miller joining the cast as MI6 officer Emma Marlowe.

While this might be a Ghost War, this isn’t Jack Ryan fighting spectral beings – that would be the Ghostbusters 3 we never expected – but we pick up with Jack after leaving the CIA to become an every-day analyst. Of course, it’s not long before Ryan is pulled back into the spy/intelligence world, in the guise of doing a favour for his old boss, Pierce’s James Greer. While initially the covert mission seems like a simple ‘pick up’ job beneath the spires of Dubai, it rapidly opens up a major conspiracy which forces Jack Ryan back into the field to take on a rogue black-ops unit, who not only appear to link to the past, but are also one step ahead of both the CIA and MI6.

While it might be beneficial if you know the series, the best thing about Jack Ryan: Ghost War is that it doesn’t over complicate and so, even as a casual viewer, there’s fun in this back-to-basics action-thriller. For the overall setup, it’s the classic intelligence agency covert operation where some secret information needs to be captured before it gets into the wrong hands and, for much of the film, those particulars are in the wind, with both the good and bad guys on the trail of tracking it down, and if the bad guys get it, they’ll cause chaos on a global scale.

The lead bad guy is Max Beesley’s Liam, a man linked to something from the past, and he plays it decently enough, and thankfully keeps the English accent. While he might not hold the heavy depth of some British movie baddies, he’s detached and gruff enough to fit the moment. The other newcomer is Sienna Miller, and her MI6 officer Emma, channelling an essence of Rebecca Ferguson, and certainly doing the best she can to run both a dishevelled Agent persona, while also slipping into the quick one-liners between Krasinski and Kelly’s characters.

Director Andrew Bernstein keeps the action sequences packed with explosions and fire-power, not forgetting indiscriminate automatics in tight situations. I was particularly impressed by the London car chase scene, which utilises the narrow streets of central London, as well as the Strand Underpass, with an adept, concentrated, engaging pursuit. Bernstein has form with both Jack Ryan and Ozark and their smaller screen darker palette, so some stormy streets of London are certainly part of the story here. However, it’s worth noting some obvious product placement though, I’m looking at you Cisco, Emirates and FedEx, yet it’s pushed early and thus forgivable.

As a whole, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War is exactly what you’d hope, and I had an enjoyable time. It doesn’t remould what works within its fictional boundaries, with just a moment of sad loss, alongside big dramatic speeches about goddam moral compasses, and a dash of existential threats. Thankfully, it doesn’t sit too deeply in this latter and for me, this was a refreshing change of late as they instead focus on the skirmishes, some comforting ‘one last time’ type vibes, and an entertainingly watchable 100 minutes of old-school action.

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War is streaming on Prime Video from 20th May: https://amzn.to/4973A50