Jack Ryan (TV Series) Star on the Wall (2022) User Reviews

A Fitting Conclusion

[ahmadz839 · 8/10 · 21 December 2022]

The season ends on a high note with "Star on the Wall," a fitting conclusion to arguably the finest season of "Jack Ryan." Despite some issues with the writing, which has been a consistent problem throughout the show's run, the production values have remained top-notch and helped elevate the material.

While the finale was certainly enjoyable, it's clear that the show could benefit from stronger writing to fully realize its potential as a serious political thriller. Hopefully, future seasons will address this issue and deliver the high-quality storytelling that the show and its talented cast deserve.

Rating: 7.8/10 (Impressive)

Where's the logic?

[sciencguy · 7/10 · 25 December 2022]

Super good through episode 6, then downhill all the way. Where's the real-world logic in CIA guys running around Moscow unhindered? How believable is it that the President of the Czech Republic is running around in tunnels under the Kremlin with two CIA guys and nobody notices? Real-world Presidents are tracked every moment they're in office. Greer had a bypass but he's out there engaging in fisticuffs with GRU thugs, and beating them (never mind he's obese)? And what about the Russian Colonel running around like an espionage operative shooting people! The final confrontation between the missile ships was too predictable. Episodes 7and 8 we're not so much written as phoned in.

"I Think the Other Guy Just Blinked"

[lavatch · 8/10 · 25 December 2022]

The action shifts to the Baltic Sea for a standoff between the USS "Roosevelt" and the Russian destroyer "The Fearless." On board the Roosevelt is Jack Ryan, and Luka Goncharov has fearlessly boarded the Fearless. An epic confrontation ensues that recalls the famous line uttered during the Cuban Missile Crisis: "I think the other guy just blinked."

A theme that emerges in this final episode is the importance of not adhering to blind obedience in carrying out orders. This was the shortcoming that has haunted Luka and for which he is seeking redemption from the 1969 massacre at Matoska. One of the best relationships developed in the episode was Luka's mentoring of a sailor in which the younger man is encouraged to think for himself rather than carry out the evil design of a rogue captain.

In other subplots, Alena is able to speak with the Russian president and convince him of the treachery of Defense Minister Alexei Petrov. Greer is instrumental as well as he burrows trough the secret tunnels of the Kremlin. For her part, Elizabeth Wright is finally getting the attention of the American President as she conveys Jack's dispatches.

There was an effective denouement with the voiceover of Luka recounting the stand that was collectively taken to resolve the crisis. And the peaceful resolution was due to the heroic stand taken by a few good men...and women.

More action than previous season..

[pekpik · 8/10 · 24 December 2022]

Finished the whole season and i most say it was very good season. It had more action from previous season if i recall. Its crazy cuz of the Ukraine situation on Russian right now it makes you think if this is how it start the war. I know its just a show but it gives you question if its real or not. Overall all character did fantastic job. 8 star is a fair score for this show. Hope they wont stop making. The place or country they went back and fort makes you think its a big operation and the scenery was beautifully shot when they make this show. I know John Krasinski make movie to his wife hope he can direct one of this show.

Have fun!!!

Is Jack Ryan related to Jason Bourne?

[andrew_melix · 10/10 · 24 December 2022]

It really feels like 3rd season of this show depicts current world situation: relationship between USA and Russia. Not sure when this was written and made, but creators of this show are displaying what certain individuals and groups within governments can do to the rest of us. Can this be a veiled reference to a situation with war in Ukraine? Is there a reason one of the main antagonists kind of looks like current Ukrainian president Zelensky? Probably a coincidence. Very well made season. Not sure when Jack Ryan grew up from an intelligence analyst into full on "badass" Jason Bourne/Jack Bauer, but it is what is. Good acting, interesting story line and now i really want to go to Prague and Moscow.

Enjoy!

Decent Spy Thriller

[polsixe · 8/10 · 2 January 2023]

A good binge watch over the holidays. Yes a few too many plot holes but some good Euro-setting set pieces. Tom Clancy novels were overburdened with how great the US military and intelligence services are, and this continues the theme. Episode 8 was a good take on Hunt for Red October for those familiar with the Alec Baldwin film. Nina Hoss is a good add as a smart, atractive no-nonsense Euro woman, was also good in a recurring role in Homeland a few years ago. But, back to plotting, there seemed no real reason her character would go to Moscow for the last two episodes. Wendell Pierce was fun and can also see his Bunk character from the Wire coming through. Krasinski is a good action man and here he is front and centre with the special teams leading the gunplay. Yes, he does kill a Greek policeman which is glossed over. The Russian heavy is killed off too early and the senior citizens are a little hard to figure who's who. Not sure when this was filmed but this Russia is a far different than the one we have seen in the Ukraine. Was the Russian Deputy Minister guy chosen for his physical similarity to Zelenskyy ?

Fitting Ending

[rdms87-149-612072 · 10/10 · 25 December 2022]

James Cosmo is a Scottish born actor who plays Luka, a Russian Colonel, in this series. I didn't recognize him as he is made up here. His character carries the guilt of following a deadly order in the USSR era. It has haunted him ever since-- his platoon killed innocent people because his superior officer told them to.

For this reason he becomes an unlikely ally to Jack Ryan, working to stop a nuclear war, led by a rogue faction of the Russian government. Cosmo is magnificent--he knows he will die because he's doing this. The series ends with his character's words. Fitting, poignant, a message that true heroism requires real risk.

Finally Some Light!

[sjstitzer · 8/10 · 6 July 2023]

We really liked Seasons 1 and 2. BUT the entire third season was a huge disappointment, mostly because it was filmed in the freaking dark.

You need a whole lot of new people for this series-a director, editor, gaffer. Do any of these people not actually watch what they filmed?

It was so very hard to see anything including the faces of the actors. This final episode we could actually see about 50 percent of the story.

This episode reminded us of Hunt for Red October. Ryan in the water. Boat captain against boat captain.

Good thing we really like Krasinski. He's worth watching when we can actually see him.

Who's advising on the military stuff?

[cbd-61836 · 6/10 · 25 December 2022]

Obviously no show is perfect depicting how the military does things and Hollywood is going to do it's own thing, but come on. The whole engagement between the Burke and the Russian Frigate didn't make sense.

The Burke launches an SM-6 to destroy the incoming anti-ship missile but for some reason it does a full circle around the ship. Over the course of 8-10 seconds it barely gets a 100 yards of the bow of the Burke. Do the writers know how fast those move? Then the Russian captain says it was a part of his plan to lower the defenses... because somehow the American CIWS needs to reload even though it wasn't even used, since the loopy loop missile barely saved the Burke's bridge. Let's say for a moment the CIWS does need to reload... the Burke has more missiles and other weapons... I get we are used to Russians (in this case traitorous ones) being the bad guys, but you don't have to give them the tactical mind of an over-caffeinated 12 year-old going into his 6th hour of Fortnite. They could actually be a semi-intelligent naval officer. You know, a worthy opponent?

The frustration stems from the fact that the whole thing could have been cool based in reality, because ships, and missiles, and explosions are fun to watch. But instead it was just a weird sequence with no tension because we knew what was gonna happen anyways.

I liked how it ended for that defense minister though. Still enjoyed the season overall.

The Series Defines Itself--And Not In The Best Way

[zkonedog · 6/10 · 13 January 2023]

I had extremely different reactions to S1 (which I absolutely loved) and S2 (which I thought was "just okay") of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. As such, I was looking forward to this third season being a tie-breaker, of sorts. Unfortunately, it skewed more towards its immediate predecessor than the much more nuanced original slate.

For a very basic overview, S3 once again sees Ryan (John Krasinski) jet-setting across the global to prevent political and international chaos. This time, the Russians are the culprit, what with their higher-ups staging an elaborate plot to goad Czech Republic President Alena Kovac (Nina Hoss) into actions that may lead to a nuclear global conflict.

The first few episodes of S3 show great promise. There's some intriguing flashbacks to the 1960's Soviet Union that ties in with the current-day politics, and the back-and-forth between Russian & the Czech Republic is compelling.

But after that, this season takes the generic, middle-of-the-road route right through the very end. All the promise of an interesting political situation dies in the wake of stolid action scenes and "twists" that are more plot-movement devices than anything else. In a sense, the show is now exactly what the Clancy books themselves are--pulpy thrillers often light on compelling story.

Perhaps the biggest loss in all of this? Whereas S1 featured some great work from Krasinski, by this point he could be replaced by any tall, good-looking guy. Why? Because his Ryan character is given no opportunity for growth or change. For better or worse (I'll argue the latter), Jack Ryan the man is now 100% tough-guy super spy and little else.

I'll give S3 six stars because of a decent idea (albeit a wasted one), but plot/character-wise this is more of a right-down-the-middle 5 stars. While season one of Jack Ryan caught a spark of magic in combining 24-like action with Homeland-type drama, the next two seasons have gone the generic political thriller route. The show is expertly produced so it is difficult to call it truly "bad", but there's absolutely nothing below the surface anywhere here.

The last episode is full of BS.

[mauromosc · 5/10 · 26 December 2022]

I'm frustrated with this end. Who watched The Sum of All Fears will know what I mean. In this movie you have both American and Russian Presidents arguing about the skirmish on this text system and you have Jack Ryan saving the day.

Now you have the US President, surrendered by 100 people and no one has the idea to contact the Russians about this Russian Lone Wolf Captain. They're about to lose a frigate because they can't call someone in the Kremlin. Also you have the Russian president, facing a coup, he knows about the fake order and doesn't contact the US government.

The whole final episode could last 10 minutes, but let's put another 40 minutes of BS.

Boring again.Why;

[thanoskab · 6/10 · 2 January 2023]

The first season was very good, I would say. Well-written script, directed actors. The action kept you in your place in all eight episodes.

The second season, on the other hand, was a boring choice of script without scenes of agony and action.

The third season, although the case was good in general, loses again in the choices of the second actors. The protagonists are not convinced that they are Russians and the Russian language. Also, the dramatization is completely absent in some scenes without any interaction with the world around. Boring and predictable.

Seriously the guys in Amazon they dont known how to makes a good espionage series.

ok

[Lythas_85 · 7/10 · 23 December 2022]

I had written my previous review before watching the last couple of minutes.. and like another reviewer said, made no sense the president being hesitant like that.. CIA boss has intel that shows Antenov is pretty much going on all out war against the USA and president wants secondary confirmation, tagged properly and this and that.. come on guy.. are new here?

Great story overall, every thing was alright at the end.. lady boss became the director.. jack and greer survived.. old braveheart dude probably got arrested.. well, he did create the warheads, no? Still did not get what he tried to do.. but come on, not only did he got the confession from the minister of defense, but he saved jack a few times and also prevented the missile exchange between the ships.. so old guy did a lot and regarding the killings of the guys over 40 years ago, he was following orders.. what was he supposed to do?

He's regreted that for years.. and come on, he did make up for it.. by a lot..

anyway, that was a good season.. similar to the terminal list.. and much better than echo 3 over on apple boring tv.

Great Production, bad writing

[tyson-davis-11-922277 · 2/10 · 26 December 2022]

They spend a lot of money on this show. You can tell by the great production values. Unfortunately, between that and the actor payroll, they must have had little for the writing.

The whole season was shaky, but the final climax in this episode made no sense. Once the Defense Minister was "removed from office" there was no threat of war. Even if the US Warship had destroyed the Fearless, the Russian President wouldn't have escalated any farther. He was back in control and knew of the plan. Game over.

Plenty of more unbelievable plot points throughout this show. Some you can say, "well, suspension of disbelief" and all that. But that only goes so far and makes this show not nearly as enjoyable as it could be with better writing.

Weak & Melodramatic

[parkersmitthy · 5/10 · 30 December 2022]

Ugh, it's just a shame. So much money spent on this and it's just...not very good. Weird casting. WEAK script. And I'm no military expert, but neither are the writers it seems. I would have loved for this to be a knock out show, but it's just bland and by the numbers kind of show. Everyone feels as if they're acting as hard as they can to convey intensity or emotions but it comes off as poor acting. Which to me is strange because a good chunk of this cast have been fantastic in other projects. The writing is, again, the problem here I assume.

I had to force myself to keep watching this final episode. In the end, background noise is all this show became. No more please.

Star on the Wall

[bobcobb301 · 5/10 · 23 December 2022]

Absolutely no surprises in this finale, everything played out exactly how they teased it would and how we expected it to.

That is simply unacceptable for a program like this. You have to surprise us in one way or another, because it is 2022 and we simply have too many other viewing options out there.

As a whole this season was just a letdown with no real concise plan, and despite the huge budget this TV show has, they gave us absolutely nothing.

The finale was a bust here and they didn't even tease any chaos for next season too, which would have been a good way to bail out the mess of this year.

Predictable

[davidrosenbaum-04260 · 2/10 · 3 January 2023]

I agree with many other reviewers here who criticized the unrealistic aspects of the end of the season.

I don't know how many of you remember Crimson Tide but the final standoff was basically a copy of that - but worse. These actors don't hold a candle to Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman.

And once, just once, I'd like to see an ending where the argument to engage turns out to be the right one. Hollywood always insists on doing nothing as the correct answer. Of course, action is not always correct either. But each case has to be determined based on its own facts.

Thank God Hollywood isn't in charge of military affairs.

bit of a joke

[glstrom-14260 · 2/10 · 9 January 2023]

While the idea of redemption and Luka (who can still handle a gun for an old timer) wanting to make thing right due to his inability to question orders seems quaint, the logistics of it all were beyond belief. How the hell does Jack just drop in to Estonia and walk across the river into Russia while his buddies are waiting there in a chopper? How the hell does the woman president of Czech republic go running around tunnels with CIA agent and some do everything helper following a map on paper? How the hell does Greer who is obese with a heart condition kick kremlin guard ass? How the hell does Luka just drive up to Russian battleship, park next to it and embark with NO ONE there to greet him? I liked him and his acting, but that was about it for that cast....oh, lets throw Jack into water in front of SS Roosevelt battleship so he can have a chat with captain about saving the world, yuk yuk. So stupid. Oh, and lets just replace acting head of intelligence Miller on the spot Mr President, um, yeah, you, take over for him...don't suggest I call president of Russia to confirm Jack. Same with Russian president once his pathetic coup plot was unraveled (planned this thing for 50 years only to fail, way to go ruskies) Then the pissing contest on the boats with macho man and crazy guy who after his lifes work of planning lets Luka on deck to talk them all out of it and get thrown in the brig without a wimper. How weak an ending is this? Then the obligatory stars like frigging Star Wars handed out to the heroes, how original. Chewie still wants his btw!

Sad

[vonronken · 3/10 · 18 January 2023]

It was as if the writers had finished writing everything except this episode on a Friday and forgot about it when returning to work on Monday. If they had already uncovered the plot to overthrow the Russian government then would anyone blame Russia for the actions of a Rogue Admiral firing on a US warship...so dumb. Jim Greer is a ridiculous character--morbidly obese 5'8" senior citizen with a crappy "chip on the shoulder attitude" and a heart condition--that somehow blends in with the Eastern Europeans and kicks everyone's ass in the process?!..and of course the non white boss lady becomes the director at the end because this was made after 2020!?