Without Remorse is the next offering in the Tom Clancy franchise which is directed by Stefano Sollima. It follows John Clark, a Navy SEAL, goes on a path to avenge his wife’s murder only to find himself caught up in a larger conspiracy.
Without Remorse Plot
An elite Navy SEAL uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, the explosive origin story of action hero John Clark— one of the most popular characters in the best-selling author’s Jack Ryan universe.
Without Remorse Cast
- Michael B. Jordan as John Kerry
- Jodie Turner-Smith as Karen Greer
- Jamie Bell as Robert Ritter
- Guy Pearce as Secretary Clay
- Lauren London as Pam Kelly
Without Remorse Review
Without Remorse is the latest in the franchise of Tom Clancy. It has a constant sense of thrill and suspense which is always in the movie’s favour and calling it just an action movie would not just be an understatement. However, the predictability of the plot, a slow moving first half and an underwhelming climax keeo it from being the perfect vengeance thriller. Without Remorse is deeply personal but it also tries to utilize each and every character on screen, so nothing feels wasted.
Stefano Sollima, who also directed the Mexican drug cartel thriller, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, comes back with a series of engrossing and captivating one takes, and more than the actual action itself, Sollima heavily relies on the situational thrill of each sequence. There’s an Anxiety rush in this movie which, despite of its flaws, still keeps me glued to the screen, with my mouth wide open as if I have been possessed by The Ring or something.
So well talking about the plot, its the classic Family death and a fuelled vengeance arc. And judging by the way movies like John Wick and Nobody have enthralled me, I am hardly upset by the premise of Without Remorse. John Kelly (Played by Michael B. Jordan) is a Navy Seal who is off to a mission of extracting a hostage when his group “unknowingly” stumbles upon a Russian base and his team even loses a life. Devastated and caught in a flux, he confronts the CIA leader, Robert Ritter (Played by Jamie Bell), and there’s no denying the fact the this information wasn’t so surprising for the CIA.
The conspiracy plot thickens, but before that goes any further, the war gets even more personal when the sweet, pregnant wife of John, is shot dead multiple times in her own home. A devastated John goes to the hospital with numerous bullets on his chest (he survives by the way, it’s barely an inconvenience) and only the memories of his wife to comfort him. He wakes up and there’s only one thing he knows, to kill the last shooter in his house who escaped in front of his eyes.
Without Remorse: Long Shots in This Movie Will Keep you Glued
Now lets talk about how Without Remorse works as a great attention sucking thriller. By attention sucking, I mean the phenomenal build up of each scene in the movie, the carefully planned long shots which never take an unnecessary cut and the engrossing music which accompanies every scene. There are so many sequences where Without Remorse refrains from going deeper into the Ass-Kicking aspect and doubles down on the survival aspect of the characters. If I didn’t know any better and if the title wasn’t associated with the Tom Clancy franchise, I would have totally termed this movie as a Survival Thriller.
The scenarios in the movie keep making things difficult for the protagonists, whether it is a flaming plane crashing right into the waters between Russia and Germany or whether its a cluster of Russians on their way to kill a small group of US seals. The shots are long and stay with the character. So it basically goes on to show the finesse of the set design and the cinematography of the show, that Sollima was confident enough to let the camera stay put and behind the character at all times. I found this refreshing, which is testament to the fact that filmmakers have stopped relying on long shots nowadays. So its really surprising to see some contrast in the case of Without Remorse.
The Ripped Badassery of Michael B. Jordan in Without Remorse
Michael B. Jordan has, in my opinion, the same face for regret, anger and sadness and somehow I can still distinguish it. He was pretty good in this movie, but I felt that the pacing didn’t really give him enough of a chance to reflect on the death of his family more. He jumps to vengeance a lot quickly than Sadness, and some more time to actually go through the loss would have worked too. But then again the first half felt too slow, so adding that to the mix might not have been the best option.
His action and his ripped as hell body make a few appearances and oh boy he really beats the hell out of anyone who dare touch him. The close combat is very rare in this movie, but watching him thrash the officers made me wish there was more of it. There’s also a lot of intricate planning which goes into every fight, like how he lets the tap run to create a slippery surface and wraps towel around his hand so his punches feel more brutal. Attention to detail is something Sollima specifically prioritizes and his sure shows.
Without Remorse isn’t Without Flaws
Now, the pacing. If I were to describe it then the first half works as the slow first season of Breaking Bad and the second half is the rushed eighth season if Game of Thrones. Not to say that the second half was rushed but it was definitely more enthralling then what the first half went for. But I wouldn’t call this the major issue of this movie as that lies in predictability. The whole country conspiracy was a far bigger “twist” than the actual reveal of the antagonist in my opinion. In the first 30 minutes of the film you kinda go like, “oh I think this film is going that route” because it does. There’s a war and everything which was mildly predictable but the reveal and that underwhelming final act really does a not-so-great job at cashing in all the buildup that we have seen in the better half of the movie. It plays of like a terrible lovemaking session, which is never fulfilled. So all the anxiety and thrill the movie builds up is, poof, gone in an instant. I won’t say it took away how enthralling the film usually was but I mean, Without Remorse kind of botches up what it was so religiously building up for.
Without Remorse is an engaging offering with a strong lead and some wonderful direction and anxiety inducing sequences. It is a movie which comes with flaws and my job was to point them out, which I did. Now, regardless of that, I still enjoyed this movie a lot for most part, and I assume for most people it will be so. Stefano Sollima has established his image as a hit or miss director with usually more hits than misses and this film is, again, a prime example of that. Also, the ending, or rather the post credit scene of this movie packs a massive set-up which will pleasantly surprise all the Tom Clancy die hard fans. So you know, watch the movie, enjoy it for Sollima, for the ripped Michael Jordan and for the thrill of it all.
The Movie Culture Synopsis
Without Remorse is without a doubt engaging. Yet it also brings with it some major issues that are seemingly hard to get by. The action is more instinctive than skirmish. The performances are good and it leaves you wanting more, both for the good and the bas reasons.
Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse is releasing in 2 days and it surely lives up to a lot of hype. Its engaging and keeps the viewer in the front seat, yet it is clouded with high predictability. Without Remorse will be releasing on Amazon Prime Video on 30th April 2021.
