Sans aucun remords (Tom Clancy's Without Remorse)

Appeared as a main or secondary character in twenty Tom Clancy novels (The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988), Clear and Present Danger (1989), The Sum of All Fears (1991), Without Remorse (1993), Debt of Honor (1994), Executive Orders (1996), Rainbow Six (1998), The Bear and the Dragon (2000), Dead or Alive (2010), Locked On (2011), Threat Vector (2012), Command Authority (2013), Full Force and Effect (2014), Under Fire (2015), Commander in Chief (2015), True Faith and Allegiance (2016), Power and Empire (2017), Oath of Office (2018), Code of Honor (2019) and recently Firing Point (2020)), the character John Terence Kelly (better known as John Clark) is one of the two most popular fictional characters created by Tom Clancy with Jack Ryan.

In the movies, the character appeared in a secondary role twice in Clear and Present Danger (1994) (played by William Dafoe) and The Sum of All Fears (2002) (played by Liev Schreiber). It is easy to understand that such a character, having appeared in several bestsellers, would sooner or later come back to the forefront in a series of films revisiting with talent the origins and actions of this American hero willing to risk his life for his country. It is precisely in the bestseller Without remorse that his origins were narrated and Tom Clancy's Without Remorse is not a faithful adaptation but a way to lay a solid foundation for developing a real franchise on the Prime Video platform if successful.

In the first scene of the film, set in war-torn Syria, an elite team of U.S. Navy SEALs led by Senior Chief John Terence Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) rescues a CIA agent taken hostage by ex-Russian military forces who turn out to be mercenaries. The action then picks up three months later as his team members are killed one by one and his pregnant wife Pam (Lauren London), is murdered by terrorists in their home leaving him for dead. John Terence Kelly, having left the army, decides to take justice into his own hands and realizes that he is part of a real political scheme to rekindle rancor between Russia and the United States. After being sent to prison for killing the man who made the fake passports of the mercenaries who killed his wife, John Terence Kelly negotiates his release by revealing that the terrorist who escaped is a certain Victor Rykov (Brett Gelman), a former Spitznaz officer who is currently hiding in Murmansk, Russia. Here he goes with other military personnel on his final undercover mission.

The script by Will Staples reworked by Taylor Sheridan seems to easily build on the success of the two Paramount productions devoted to another American literary hero Jack Reacher with its willingness to place the action in a realistic setting and by featuring an American military hero who has decided to leave the military to take his own justice into his own hands. This approach is also accompanied by a willingness to redefine the character of John Terence Kelly here played by the African-American actor Michael B. Jordan (here also co-producer of the film). Recently seen in the excellent Chronicle (2012), Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed: The Legacy of Rocky Balboa (Creed) (2015), Black Panther (2018), Creed 2 (2018) he proves to be the perfect choice here as he is equally at ease in the many action scenes of the film but also the more dramatic moments.

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse was tailor-made for actor Michael B. Jordan and was originally intended for theatrical release. This can be seen in the great care taken with the inspired direction, the meticulous photography and the many spectacular action scenes on land, sea and in the sky. No dead time and above all a gripping scenario make Tom Clancy's Without Remorse one of the best movies discovered recently on Prime Video. We hope that this movie will be successful enough to have a sequel as the character of John Terence Kelly who changes his identity in the last minutes of the movie to become John Clark is perfectly embodied and deserves to see the other novels dedicated to his character be adapted as well.

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse
A film by Stefano Sollima
Produced by Akiva Goldsman, Michael B. Jordan, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec
Screenplay by Taylor Sheridan, Will Staples
Story by Taylor Sheridan, Will Staples
Based on the novel Without Remorse by Tom Clancy
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Luke Mitchell, Jack Kesy, Brett Gelman, Colman Domingo, Guy Pearce
Music by Jónsi
Director of photography : Philippe Rousselot
Editor: Matthew Newman
Production: Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, Weed Road Pictures, Outlier Society, New Republic Pictures, Midnight Radio Productions
Distribution: Amazon Studios
Release date: April 30, 2021 (USA, France)
Running time : 110 minutes

Seen on April 23, 2021 in original version (screener press)

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