Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Usually by this time there is barrage of new summer movies that all sound great so that you have a hard time picking the film that you want to see. This year, however, there doesn't seem to be that many out there, yet. This is not the type of film that I usually see--at least on the theatre. Looking at the paper at my movie choices (having seen the two greats already--Spider Man and Star Wars) I decided to see this film because I am a fan of Ben Affleck and I also know that Morgan Freeman usually does good work as well. The Sum of All Fears is based on a Tom Clancy novel. I am not a fan of Clancy and have never read his books, but they usually make good films or so I am told (not having seen any of the previous films based on his novels). This one turned out to be a great film. It has some great effects, good intrigue, great story line and dialogue, and good acting.

The basic plot of this film is that Jack Ryan, Ben Affleck, is a CIA analyst that has written a paper on a Russian man that may inherit the Presidency of Russia should something happen to the current president. The current president dies and Ryan becomes a very important person to his boss William Cabot, Morgan Freeman, since he is the man in the know about the new president. During this time, a terrorist buys a bomb on the black market and sets up a plot to make the US and Russia blow each other off the face of the earth. Jack Ryan stumbles into the thick of the plot by first noticing some Russian scientists are missing from a nuclear weapons facility. Cabot sends Ryan out with a secret agent Clark, Liev Schreiber, and they begin to see the outline of the conspiracy at hand. They don't figure out the conspiracy in time to stop the bomb from going off near a football stadium in Maryland. It is up to Ryan, however, to keep Russia and the US from destroying each other over the incident since the US believes that Russia sent the bomb. Ryan is the only one who has all the information and he has no weight in the hierarchy of the government and when Cabot is put out of commission by the explosion, Ryan's job becomes even more difficult. Add to that plot a romance trying to bloom between Ryan and his new girlfriend played by Bridget Moynahan. The plot is complicated, unraveling one interesting event at a time. None of the events in the plot seem too far fetched--the beauty of this film is that it is realistic.

The dialogue is intelligent. It never seems fake, cheesy, or over rehearsed. The advice given by the advisers when Russia and the US are getting geared up for war against one another seems authentic to me. It doesn't sound silly, simplified, or stilted.

The movie moves very well--I was never bored. There is plenty of action and suspense to keep one engaged in the film--but there is not so much that it takes away from the plot. There are some nice explosions, murders, fires, and a fight scene.

The acting was well done as was the casting for the roles. I thought Affleck did a good job as the intelligent analyst that is unoffically promoted quickly and falls into a situation he doesn't quite know what to do with. He portrays a range of emotions: from frustration and confusion to being self assertive to carefree and romantic with his girlfriend. The character thinks well on his feet and Affleck carries that off well. Morgan Freeman does an excellent job as Cabot--the man with experience and wisdom that knows how to get the job done, but he also cares about his agents. Cabot even asks after Ryan's girlfriend after the nuclear explosion. His character also has a sense of humor that is shown in the early part of the film. Liev Schreiber delivers some interesting lines and is a good secret agent (featured in some rather neat scenes) but he is not featured all that much in the film as a whole and we never get a real handle on his character. Ryan's girlfriend played by Bridget Moynaham. She is pretty but featured only as the girl that has to wait on Ryan to return and is also feature as a nurse/doctor that cares for people after the blast. Her character is not allowed to be extremely deep due to the limits of the script but Moynaham does well with what she has to work with.

Overall this is a good film with no faults. If you like a realistic good suspense thriller then you should watch this film.

Recommended: Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older