Tom Clancy's Without Remorse

I’m confused by this film.

How can something that showcases inventive action also suffer from a lack of energy? And how can a movie that traffics in shoot-‘em-up nonsense be so dour?

The filmmakers failed to realize that Tom Clancy novels are not Very Serious Stories. They’re frivolous reads that evaporate from memory a few hours after you’ve turned the last page. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I re-watch “The Hunt for Red October” every couple years and I’ve enjoyed most of the Jack Ryan adaptations. These films and shows don’t aspire to be better than their source material.

“Without Remorse” doesn’t have any fun. That’s a missed opportunity because Michael B. Jordan is going to be an action star, and that transformation could have happened in this franchise if this film didn’t take itself so seriously.

Not another dead wife: The plot of this film is wafer thin, yet it still clears out plenty of space to feature an abhorrent example of Fridging.