John Krasinski as Jack Ryan moving through cars
By
Craig Elvy
Published 19 minutes ago
Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek.
Craig is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes.
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John Krasinski's version of Jack Ryan is a busy man. Not only did he spend four seasons defending the United States from foreign threats, he had to contend with the towering frame of Jack Reacher. Despite the many differences between Ryan and Reacher, the comparison was too good to ignore. These were two Prime Video "Dad shows" belonging to the action thriller genre, both released around the same time, both starring ex-military protagonists with the initials J.R., both based on famous book series, and both structured with standalone storylines for each season.
Amazon's Battle of the Jacks was a close contest, with Reacher arguably edging it thanks to the high quality of seasons 1 and 3 compared to Jack Ryan's poor final season. Indeed, Jack Ryan ending with season 4 seemed to bring the competition to an end, but news of Krasinski reprising his role suggested another round might be on the cards.
Jack Ryan's Next Mission Will Avoid The Reacher Comparisons
John Krasinski wearing a suit and looking serious as Jack Ryan on Jack Ryan
Rather than returning for Jack Ryan season 5, Krasinski's next appearance as Tom Clancy's famous hero will come via a feature-length movie. Continuing from where the TV show left off and bringing back fan-favorites Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly as James Greer and Mike November, respectively, the new Jack Ryan movie is currently in post-production. If all goes well, this could be the dawn of a whole new movie series.
By virtue of being a movie rather than a TV show, however, the comparisons between Krasinski's Jack Ryan and Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher become redundant. The rivalry only worked because both characters were sleuthing out conspiracies in long-form TV shows, utilizing similar beats and rhythms (e.g. the main character's love interest being replaced in season 2). With Ryan switching to a movie format, the emphasis and pacing will be very different - enough to halt comparisons to a TV show set within a totally different universe.
Pitting Reacher against Ryan at this point would be the same as comparing Ritchson's character to Taken's Bryan Mills or one of Gerard Butler's many action movie protagonists. A pointless exercise.
Reacher and Jack Ryan were never identical to begin with. Intelligence aside, their personalities are polar opposites, with one saying little and the other saying a lot. Ryan also deals exclusively with international-level threats, whereas Reacher brings down foes without even leaving the United States. Such differences give these two shows quite distinct flavors when examined up-close.
Jack Ryan's Transition To Movies Will Intensify A Very Different Rivalry
Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) taking cover in Patriot Games
When he wasn't being held up against Jack Reacher, Krasinski's Jack Ryan performance was often measured against the prior iterations of Tom Clancy's character. General consensus more or less agrees Krasinski did enough to surpass Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine, but the battle with Harrison Ford proved less definitive. The "best Jack Ryan" title definitely belongs to one of those two, but whether Krasinski or Ford comes out on top is a matter of fierce debate.
Until now, comparing the two portrayals directly was difficult due to the varying mediums. In a TV show, Krasinski could bring more light and shade to Ryan's character, but by only appearing in two movies, Harrison Ford could leave audiences wanting more.
The upcoming Jack Ryan movie will level that playing field. It will be far easier to compare Krasinski and Ford after the former has appeared in a feature-length Jack Ryan adventure, meaning the truly definitive portrayal might finally push his way to the front. Whether proving himself better than Harrison Ford will be easier than topping Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher creates a fascinating subplot heading into this next chapter.
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Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Action Drama Thriller Release Date 2018 - 2023-00-00 Network Amazon Prime Video Showrunner Carlton Cuse Directors John Krasinski Writers Carlton Cuse, Graham RolandCast
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Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
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