The MM - "This Tom Clancy novel turned movie deals with a nuclear bomb being produced on the black market and used in a terrorist attack against the United States. The terrorists in this case are Nazis who calculate that their best chance to regain international political influence is by starting World War III. Morgan Freeman is excellent as the CIA executive, the scene where the bomb is detonated is spectacular, and interesting questions about national security are posed. However, Ben Affleck's portrayal of Clancy's most famous character, Dr. Jack Ryan is troubling. Affleck is not convincing as a brilliant historian, Affleck is not convincing as a CIA agent involved in international diplomacy. Affleck is not convincing as the person the Joint Chiefs of Staff would turn to to find what's really going on inside the Kremlin. The Sum of All Fears also suffers from several breeches of reality that are disconcerting. The setting is present day yet Affleck is the youngest actor to play Ryan. Not only is the chronology out of sync but the effects of the nuclear fallout from a bomb going off inside the U.S. is completely ignored. Since happy endings are a must in Hollywood, the movie concludes with Affleck and his soul mate picnicking on the White House lawn and cooing over their engagement. I'm sure everything was just as blissful fifty miles down the road at Ground Zero."
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