Without Remorse

Tom Clancy's espionage novels have a fascinating history in terms of being adapted for various media. There has been more video game series focus on portraying those books compared to the films, which makes sense given the production of console products versus cinematic works. Admittedly I haven't watched any of those movies, read the books, nor played any of the games but have been aware of their popularity with the public. This brings us to Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, which was directed by Stefano Sollima and is based on the 1993 novel of the same name. Paramount Pictures originally wanted this for theaters but ended up selling it to Amazon for distribution. The marketing for it looked like something that could be cool with its genre. After watching it on Amazon Prime, however, it ended up being a disappointing dull boring experience. 

What's it about? After the murder of his pregnant wife and unit members, the story follows a US Navy SEAL embarks on a revenge mission while uncovering a mystery. If there was any positive highlight about the premise, it would be the action sequences. Some specific shoutouts among them include a night-vision in a cramped household setting, an airplane scene, and a shootout in the third act. On paper, the story has potential to continue its story with the novels that follow it.

However, the execution of its narrative ends up taking digging through a recycling bin of predictable bland throwaway script. It wouldn't be much of an issue if the main protagonist himself was written to being an interesting engaging lead we would want to follow. Unfortunately, they were hoping to banking on an actors star power to see if that would make anyone overlook how bland his character is. The sluggish pacing throughout is rough to the point where by the time the last 15 minutes arrive, the boredom that's been steadily rising is frustrating to sit through. 

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actor to focus on is Michael B Jordan. Michael gives a decent performance but he's not strong enough of an actor to overcome to the lack of personality he's suffering from, though nobody can blame him for choosing this project for his rising career.  Dishonorable mention go to Jodie Turner-Smith for being the weakest link due to her half-effort acting among the supporting cast.

 

Overall Consensus: Without Remorse wastes it potential due to terrible script with its predictable plot, dull characters, awful pacing, and mixed bag of performances, despite having solid action sequences. ⭑⭑ Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Stefano Sollima. You are familiar with Tom Clancy's novel this is based on and are curious about how it's adapted here. You only want to fast forward to see the action parts. 

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Stefano Sollima. You are familiar with Tom Clancy's novel this is based on but aren't curious about how it's adapted here. You dislike forgettable dull espionage movies with predictable formulaic narratives.