Patriot Games Blu Ray Review
April 28, 2009
Harrison Ford’s first foray into Tom Clancy movie was probably the probably the weaker of the two Jack Ryan movie. After the great job by Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October, Harrison Ford steps in as the next Jack Ryan in the thriller. Is he better than Baldwin? I think so. I think Harrison Ford was the best Jack Ryan in Clancy inspired films. As one might suspect from a movie derived from Tom Clancy, it is a thriller with lots of intrigue sprinkled with sporadic action sequence.
Harrison Ford stars as CIA agent Jack Ryan along with Anne Archer as his wife and Thora Birch as his daughter. The movie starts with Jack Ryan preventing a car bombing attempt by IRA. During the course of intervention, he kills few IRA members including a brother of a terrorist, Sean Miller. This sets up the revenge plot by Sean Miller who vows to avenge his brother. He soon targets the entire Ryan family for his revenge. The family is put through very challenging situations. The movie is about Ryan having to outwit and out muscle his opponent to save his family.
Made in 1992, the movie will feel outdated for most viewers who are more accustomed to satellites and spy gadget infested thrillers. While this may detract some luster, it is still a very serviceable film. There are some plot holes here and there. But, it is a solid thriller with solid acting and assured directing. The Blu-ray update is still very much warranted as I consider this a must for Tom Clancy fans.
What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.
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Patriot Games [Blu-ray] List Price: Sale Price: $15.99 You save: $14.00 (47%) Average Rating: 
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Good action thriller, less than optimal Blu-Ray
I’ve seen this movie a number of times, and it is a very good adaptation of Tom Clancy’s novel. There is some violence, but it is not gratuitous or over the top as in many movies. However, as a number of reviewers have noted, the quality of the video in this Blu-Ray disc leaves a lot to be desired (thus 4 stars instead of 5). Although I did not see exactly the same problems that other reviewers saw, there were intermittent vertical ghost lines throughout the movie. It is not terribly distracting, and my wife says she would not have noticed had I not commented on it, but in my opinion, there is just no excuse for this less than optimal video. When you pay the premium for Blu-Ray, you should get top-notch video quality. Nevertheless, the movie itself is well worth watching.
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Needs Software Update
When I received this Blue-ray disc, I was disappointed to see that I cannot play it on my 2-year old, top of the line, Sony DVD player until I go to Sony’s website and install a firm-ware update on my DVD. I haven’t had time to do it yet, so I don’t even know if it’s possible, but something to think about before you buy.
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A Super Thriller
This is an outstanding thriller, a movie I have always enjoyed watching since it came out. Apparently a number of people also did since a few sequels followed featuring the same main character, ex-CIA analyst “Jack Ryan,” played by Harrison Ford. (Now, it’s out on Blu-Ray but the reviews on that are so mixed, I’ve hesitated buying it in this format.)
Sean Bean was excellent as the revenge-obsessed villain, a member of a “splinter group,” as its labeled – not really an IRA extremist, but one too out-of- control for any group. Ford is the man best able to stop him and the film is involving start-to-finish and smart enough not to overdo the violence. Suspenseful is probably the best word to describe the movie as Bean goes after Ford’s family.
Anne Archer, as Ford’s wife, along with the rest of the cast, actors such as Patrick Bergen, James Earl Jones, James Fox, Richard Harris and a young Thora Birch make this a well-acted movie.
This is simply tough to beat as a modern-day thriller.
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Excellent Quality
DVD got here quickly. Item was in excellent new condition. Picture was clear and precise.
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Patriot Games [Blu-ray]
I’m a Harrison fan, already owned the movie on DVD. After reading the Blu-ray reviews and a cheap price on sale at Amazon I could help but add this to my new Blu-Ray collection. The menu system for the movie is not as good as some Blu-Ray movies I have. Not sure why, it would frezze my unit if I tried to change the sound, etc. from the opening menu. As I can access the menu once the movie is playing that worked fine. The sound and picture were great considering how old this film is. It was nice to watch it again in Blu-ray on a HD projector and see the improvement over the regular DVD.
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Movie: 3.25/5 Picture Quality: 2/5 Sound Quality: 3.5/5 Extras:
Version: U.S.A / Region A, B, C
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / High Profile 4.1
Running time: 1:56:44
Movie size: 36,45 GB
Disc size: 39,26 GB
Average video bit rate: 32.95 Mbps
Dolby TrueHD Audio English 3611 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 3611kbps (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Subtitles: English / English SDH / French / Spanish / Portuguese
Number of chapters: 22
#Cast and crew interviews (SD, 24 minutes)
#Theatrical trailer (HD, 2 minutes)
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Special Collector’s Edition–Excellent anamorphic widescreen transfer to DVD
Paramount’s ‘Special Collector’s Edition’ (part of their “Widescreen Collection”) is the edition to purchase–whether you already own the previous letterbox release or not. This version looks and sounds fantastic! Presented in anamorphic widescreen (enhanced for 16 x 9 aspect ratio, large-screen TVs), the picture is crystal clear, sharp, great colors, and free of any analog defects (lines, specks, etc.). If you have a large screen, high-definition TV, you already know how annoying a “letterbox” format can be–this DVD release is a vast improvement over the earlier letterbox version of this Tom Clancy thriller. Played on my Toshiba 1080p HD DVD player, the image was nearly high defintion in quality. Highly recommended!
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Good movie; what is wrong with this Blu Ray?
I also had trouble playing the disc. I takes a huge time to load and than usually stops playing after a short while. I thought of asking for a new copy but it seems that there are more problems with this release.
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Flashes of light?
I agree that this Blu-ray could have been done a lot better but it is a definite improvement from the SD version. If you are a fan of this movie and HD this is the best you are going to get for at least a while so you have to take it or leave it. I don’t regret buying it. I don’t know what some of these other reviews are talking about with flashes of light, etc. I have two different players and a 60″ and 40″ screen and I didn’t see any of that on either of them.
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Visually Disappointing But Audibly Exciting on Blu ray
In typical studio fashion, Paramount has transfered this exact same master that was temporarily released on HD DVD early this year which was a mixed bag and not what these films, the fans of the films, or high def owners deserve.
I really enjoy the first 3 Jack Ryan films, the 4th not so much because of Ben Affleck and because it’s just too out of sync with the previous trilogy. The first 3 are classic political thrillers that do a great job of bringing Tom Clancy’s books to the big screen. His vision and Jack Ryan character are for the most part, executed very well on these films. Many have their preferences as the stronger and better of the bunch but I like Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger individually for their own qualities and suspenseful action.
I’ve seen all of the Jack Ryan’s on HD DVD, and sure enough, the Blu Ray’s are exactly the same. Which is too bad because Paramount didn’t do a very good job remastering them and they just don’t look nearly as good as they should in hi def. I suspect that many Blu Ray owners will be pretty disappointed with the lack of visual pop that they’re hoping for. Each of the Jack Ryan’s looks better than the one before it which is typical as newer films upgrade easier to high def. And at least they all look better than their standard def counterparts. The problem is, is that most hi def owners have seen older films than these look better than these. Which brings us to wonder, what went wrong here? Granted, these films are a difficult upgrade as most of the scenes take place inside a submarine, house, office, or outside on overcast days, making it more difficult to provide that 3D pop we’re looking for. But there are specks and dirt in the transfers and while I didn’t find them in abundance or distracting, I do feel it’s inexcusable at this point in the Hi Def’s life cycle, especially for these movies. There’s no reason for them not to be squeaky clean by now, even if they’re going to look a little flat. But they are the best transfers available and the best we’ll see until they provide us a proper remastering. But one is due.
The audio, well this is finally where these discs pop. And I mean POP!!! We’re given some truly thunderous transfers here in Dolby TrueHD. These films sounded good to begin with on standard dvd (especially October) but these new transfers are just incredible. They easily trounce the old ones. The scores, sound effects, gun shots and explosions are absolutely thrilling. This is all moot if you don’t have a proper surround system to decode and dish out the TrueHD tracks though. If thats the case, then you may want to consider keeping your standard discs if you have them because the audio is the clear selling point for the upgrade.
Despite my dissatisfaction with the flimsy visual upgrades, I’m still satisfied with these discs. I’d recommend them for any Blu Ray (and home theater) owner looking for a worthy upgrade for their favorite Tom Clancy films. Again, I stress you’ll be much more impressed by the HD audio here rather than the passable but not demo worthy HD video. I give this set a 4 out of five because even though difficult, I believe if they really wanted to, Paramount could’ve and should’ve given these films a better makeover than they got. The powerful audio will help ease the disappointment with the video. Overall, I still recommend them.
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poor quality they need to recall Blu-ray
The movie is good but don’t waste your money on this blue ray version there is a pixial problem flashes of light and ghosting images throughout the movie. Terrible picture quality! I exchanged the one I had at target only to get another one of the same poor quality with the same image problems -don’t buy it until they fix the problem. I see another person is noting this problem in their reviews here as well. There is no contact number on the DVD box and the email to Paramount pic. goes no where. Target 800 # customer refunds went no where and they were rude on top of it. I had hoped they could give me a contact number to get a replacement. Hopefully there will be enough omplaints that a contact number for recall will be given or posted. Very frustrating and so far a waste of money!!! I will wait to get the other DVDs in the series now.
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Patriot Games – Solid Action Adventure With Powerful Leading Man
Patriot Games is one of the best action adventure movies out there based off the book by Tom Clancy (one of the most entertaining writers for this genre).
The movie starts as former CIA agent Jack Ryan intercepts a mission by a rogue group of IRA operatives while in London. As a result of the failed mission by the operatives Jack is given a reward and is thanked by the government. This is only the beginning, however, because during the operation one of the terrorist’s brother was killed and he’s out for revenge.
I think what makes this story so engaging is the fact that it forces us to think about how we’d respond in the situation Jack himself is put into. With your family in danger who do you turn to? What do you do to protect them? Can you really protect them?
Harrison Ford shines throughout the whole story and portrays a believable character filled with emotion and determination to do the right thing. It’s an amazing movie and while it’s not the sort of movie you’d watch twice in a row in the same sitting definitely is the sort you’d pull out every once in awhile to rewatch. It’s entertainingly wonderful.
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Decent Flick
It’s a good movie. If you like excitement and a little intrigue.
I’m a little confused by the reviews, as I don’t think the movie makes “Irish people” look bad. I think a lot of people have no clue about the PIRA, or any other paramillitary/terror group operating in Northern Ireland (LVF, UVF, etc.). The fact is, the IRA today is not Michael Collins IRA, in fact, Collins fought a civil war with these people. The movie doesn’t place Irish people in a bad light. It places a rogue army in a bad light, and in truth, they should be placed in a bad light, along with any army, Protestant or Catholic, that sells contraband, targets unarmed men and women and accepts blood money from drug dealers and radicals.
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Decent Film that still holds up well with Action/Thrillers today
This film was a hot summer movie upon its release in June 1992. Harrison Ford had taken the passed-on role of Jack Ryan from Alec Baldwin and a new Clancy movie was in the works. Patriot Games was that movie. Phillip Noyce was in the director’s chair who had already garnered acclaim for his directorial job in “Dead Calm”(1989) which was a real sleeper hit.
The plot of “Patriot Games” centers around a rogue group of IRA terrorists(Sean Bean and Patrick Bergin) who fail to assassinate a Royal of England. Instead, Sean Bean’s brother is killed by Harrison Ford amidst the conflict and all hell breaks loose. From there on, Sean Bean sets a personal vendetta against Jack Ryan for killing his lit’el baby brother and vows revenge. Jack Ryan is certainly aware of this and avoids danger in and out through the rest of the film. It all boils down to a great fight on American shores at the Ryan residence.
Overall, this movie delivers some good action sequences and twists but for the most part lacks in providing a solid story and consistent acting. Harrison Ford, James Earl Jones, Sean Bean, and Samuel L. Jackson all do very well in all. This movie wasn’t a very good adaption of the Tom Clancy novel and could have emphasized the original story a bit more. The better Clancy film to watch is “Clear and Present Danger”(1994).
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