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New releases: Affleck disappoints, but Clancy's tale delivers
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 31, 2002
The Sum of All Fears (PG-13)
[Photo: Paramount Pictures]
Ben Affleck has a tough time filling the shoes of Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan in The Sum of All Fears.
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Novelist Tom Clancy's CIA hero Jack Ryan gets a makeover, growing younger and less experienced with Ben Affleck adopting the role. Ryan's assignment is to track down a missing nuclear bomb before terrorists use it. That plan fails, causing a Baltimore disaster that may detonate World War III. Morgan Freeman co-stars as Ryan's agency mentor.
First impressions: "This is a new, unimproved Ryan with Affleck in the role, younger and less experienced in field operations than the ones (played by Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin). Clancy's knack for Washington detail and behind-the-curtain personalities is intact. There is a lock-tumbler rhythm to details as we learn them. The movie, in fact, is more satisfying as a thriller when (Affleck's) out of the picture, or at least in a corner of the frame. The whole of The Sum of All Fears is greater than its prettiest part."
Second thoughts: Solid box office results -- $118-million -- proved Americans haven't been scared out of their taste for disaster flicks.
Rental audience: Clancy readers, conspiracy buffs.
Rent it if you enjoy: Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Hunt for Red October.
Eight Legged Freaks (PG-13)
[Photo: Warner Bros.]
The spiders steal the show in the campy Eight Legged Freaks, which stars David Arquette. |
A genetic experiment goes wrong, causing spiders in an Arizona desert town to grow to the size of school buses. David Arquette is the hero, a son returning to claim his late father's gold mine. Kari Wuhrer co-stars as the local sheriff and obligatory scream-queen.
First impressions: "This is a bad movie, but a good time for old-school horror flick fans. The plot is elementary: spiders soak up toxic waste, grow to enormous sizes and munch humans -- the acting is hammy and the dialogue is dumb. But those spiders are terrific, leaping and scampering through an Arizona mining town in a seamlessly integrated stampede of computer effects and squishy sound effects."
Second thoughts: Should have plenty of legs in video store rentals.
Rental audience: Horror fans with a sense of humor; bug exterminators.
Rent it if you enjoy: Them!, Arachnophobia, late-night creatures features.
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (Not rated, probably PG-13)
This sequel to the Christianity-themed book and movie Left Behind continues the saga of the Tribulation Force, four survivors of the Rapture battling the Anti-Christ -- the president of the United Nations -- during seven years of famine, plague and war. Kirk Cameron returns as TV journalist Buck Williams and Brad Johnson plays airline pilot Rayford Steele, two of the Force leaders trying to awaken the world to God's plan.
First impressions: Essentially a Star Trek episode with gospels instead of ray guns, this low-budget adventure can only interest viewers who are already true believers. The screenplay is elemental, the conflict hammily slanted to the side of good and the evil is rather silly. Still, there is a place in the world for entertainment suiting complainers about the lack of positive Christian messages in films.
Second thoughts: Cloud Nine Films plans to release this movie in theaters and churches on Dec. 31. The home video push is geared toward raising money for film prints and advertising.
Rental audience: This movie literally preaches to the choir.
Rent it if you enjoy: The original Left Behind movie or the book series.
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