Former CIA analyst, Jack Ryan is in England with his family on vacation. He then goes to Buckingham Palace to meet them when there's an explosion. Some people are trying to abduct a member of the Royal Family but Jack stops them killing one of them and capturing the other. He learns that they're Irish revolutionaries and the two men are brothers. The one that's still alive vows to get Jack. Later while the man is being transported, he is broken out. Jack learns of this but doesn't think there's anything to worry about. But when he's at the Naval Academy someone tries to kill him but he stops him. He learns that they're also going after his family so he rushes to find them but they made an attempt but they survive. That's when Jack decides to rejoin the CIA. And they try to find the man before he makes another attempt. Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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Jack Ryan (Ford) is on a "working vacation" in London with his family. He has retired from the CIA and is a Professor at the US Naval Academy. He is seen delivering a lecture at the Royal Naval Academy in London.

Meanwhile, Ryan's wife Cathy and daughter Sally are sightseeing near Buckingham Palace. Sally and Cathy come upon a British Royal Guard, and Sally tries to get the guard to react by doing an improvised tap dance in front of him. She's impressed when the guard doesn't react at all, and they leave.

As Sally and Cathy walk away from the guard, en route to rendezvous with Ryan, they walk by a stolen cab, in which sit three Ulster Liberation Army terrorists: Kevin O'Donnell, the driver, as well as Sean Miller (Sean Bean) and his younger brother Patrick. The three are loading bullets into their guns as they prepare to carry out a scheduled ambush on Lord William Holmes, British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and a distant member of the British Royal Family (the cousin of the Queen Mother). As they finish loading their weapons, another terrorist, Annette, radios to them that Lord Holmes is leaving the palace with his wife and son.

As Lord Holmes's car leaves the palace, the terrorists' car falls in line behind him. They follow the car, headed for the ambush point. As they drive, O'Donnell and the Miller brothers don ski masks.

Meanwhile, Ryan is about to cross the street to meet with his wife and daughter. He arrives at the same time that Lord Holmes's car is passing through the area.

Suddenly, another cab, parked on the side of the road, driven by Annette, pulls out and swerves in front of Lord Holmes's vehicle. Simultaneously, O'Donnell's vehicle swerves to a stop behind the car. The Millers and another accomplice jump out and quickly plant a bomb underneath the chauffeured car's engine. Ryan sees what's going on and hastily gets his family to cover just as the bomb is detonated. Moments later, Sean and another accomplice begin shooting into the car, riddling Lord Holmes's driver and bodyguard with bullet. This fails to kill Lord Holmes, who is currently using his body to shield his family. Sean marches over to the rear door and orders Lord Holmes out of the car at gunpoint. Ryan, unable to stand being just a bystander, immediately breaks cover, runs up behind Miller, and disarms him. As Ryan grabs Sean's pistol, he gets shot in the left shoulder by another terrorist. He shoots one of the other terrorists in the shoulder. Patrick attempts to flee, but Ryan fatally shoots him in the chest. Seeing two of the royal guards racing towards the scene, the remaining terrorists quickly get back in their cars and drive off, leaving Sean to be captured when the authorities arrive. They retreat back to a warehouse, where they change out license plates.

While recovering, Ryan is called to testify against Miller as a witness. Subsequently, Miller is convicted on all charges and sentenced to life in prison. Ryan is awarded the order of Knight Commander of the Victorian Order, and eventually returns to the United States.

On the possibility that Miller's ULA comrades might try to liberate him, the authorities take no chances. To that extent, they set up decoys on the day that Miller is to be transferred to Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. However, someone manages to tip off the ULA as to which convoy is carrying Miller. Miller's convoy is in transit when it comes to a stop at a drawbridge. The raised bridge, however, is a trap meant to block them in. Moments after the convoy comes to a stop, Miller's comrades attack, using rocket launchers to blow up the cars at the front and rear of the convoy. They then march up to the prison van and order the guards out at gunpoint by taking the bridge operator hostage and threatening to shoot him. One of the guards hesitates and is shot fatally. The other officer and the inspector are pulled out, thrown on the ground and forced to lie on their stomachs. O'Donnell hands Miller a pistol, with which he executes both officers and the bridge operator by shooting them in the backs of their heads. They then depart the scene.

Miller and his companions flee on a cargo ship from Britain to Libya, to prepare for their next kidnapping attempt on Lord Holmes. Miller however, cannot shake his anger towards Ryan for killing his younger brother and persuades several members of his entourage to accompany him to the United States to go after Ryan and his family.

Miller travels to the United States, accompanied by Annette, comrade Ned Clark, and a fourth henchman. Annette and Clark travel to the United States Naval Academy to ambush Ryan as he's leaving work. Ryan notices Clark idling nearby. Clark casually walks away, but Ryan clearly unnerved, then gets even more nervous as he hears a car engine starting. His suspicions are well warranted-as he continues walking down the street, he looks in the reflection of a parked van's rearview door and sees that Clark, and the stolen car driven by Annette, are following him. Ryan pretends not to see them until he's walking past a parked panel truck, at which point he ducks behind the truck. Clark draws a silenced pistol and prepares to corner Ryan, but Ryan attacks him first. Clark quickly gets the upper hand and throws Ryan to the curb. He grabs his pistol and is about to shoot Ryan when he's shot dead himself by a US Marine sentry. Annette quickly drives away in her Jeep. Ryan, realizing that Miller is going to target Cathy and Sally, jumps into his car and drives off.

Simultaneously, Miller and the other henchman steal a brown windowless van and follow Cathy as she picks up Sally from school, with Miller riding shotgun. They prepare to follow the two, but are temporarily held up by a crossing guard. Once the crossing guard clears, they pursue her to US Highway 50. While this is happening, Ryan tries to frantically call Cathy on his car phone, but she is busy answering phone calls from the hospital. As he's trying to connect with her, Miller and his henchman recklessly weave in and out of traffic to catch up with Cathy. Ryan eventually gets through to Cathy and tells her to get off the highway and find the nearest police station. Unfortunately, just as the call ends, Miller's van comes charging up on her using the left shoulder. Miller moves to the backseat of the van, grabs a submachine gun, and slides open the door. Another car momentarily delays him, but once he has a clear aim, Miller opens fire, spraying Cathy's car with bullets. A multicar pileup ensues as Cathy loses control of her car and crashes head-on into a concrete barrier. Ryan, who has found himself stuck in traffic headed the other direction, sees the smoke from the crash and realizes the worst.

Cathy and Sally are airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Enraged over the near-loss of his family, Ryan decides to go back to work for the CIA, having earlier rejected the appeal of his former superior, Vice Admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones).

Ryan's tireless work leads him to conclude that Miller has taken refuge in a training camp, one of many located in Libya. A SAS strike team attacks and kills everyone in the camp while Ryan looks on through a live satellite feed. But unbeknownst to Ryan, Miller and his companions have already fled the camp and are on their way to the US to stage their next attack on Lord Holmes.

Lord Holmes decides to visit Ryan at his home to formally present his KCVO. With the aid of Lord Holmes' traitorous assistant, Miller's group tracks Holmes to this location, kills the Diplomatic Security Service agents and Maryland state troopers guarding the house, and attempts once more to kidnap Lord Holmes. Ryan leads Holmes and his family to safety while he attempts to lure Miller and his companions away from his home.

The FBI Hostage Rescue Teams are scrambled to pick up Holmes. Upon realising that Ryan is leading them away from Holmes, Miller's companions try to persuade Miller to turn around, but an enraged and deranged Miller kills his terrorist companions and continues his pursuit of Ryan. Ryan and Miller fight hand to hand; Miller is killed when Ryan impales him backward on a boat anchor, and his body is obliterated in the subsequent explosion of the craft.

Credits roll just after Caroline Ryan learns the gender of the child she is going to have, and before she tells Jack and Sally.

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ccthemovieman-1 from United States
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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 main character ex-CIA analyst "Jack Ryan," played by Harrison Ford.

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 very interesting 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 one of the best thrillers I've ever seen and almost every scene is interesting.

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Rachel-20 from California
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OK, so it has some plot holes, and I generally spend a good amount of time detailing for my husband the deviations from the novel (which are many, since Hollywood doesn't make many five-hour movies). And it's predictable and artless and has plenty of cliches. I make it a point not to read IMDB reviews for a movie until after I've written my own, but even so I can guess that this one has been torn apart on these points probably at least a dozen times. Now that that's over with, I'm going to admit that I like this movie. It feels like a tight thriller, good for those nights when I want entertainment with some minor complexity. I like to "go along for the ride", so to speak, even though I know how it ends. And going back to the first time I saw this, before I'd read the book, I remember being on the edge of my seat quite a bit.

Thora Birch does this film a lot of good. Her expressions and lines are quite well-acted, and she's cute without being syrupy. Harrison Ford is Harrison Ford; you either like him or you don't, and this movie isn't going to change your mind (I happen to like him).

Don't go renting this one if you want an artsy movie, or a beautiful movie, or a movie with a perfectly tight script. But if you can enjoy a film for simple entertainment value, and you like Harrison Ford ;), this is a good one for after the kids are in bed.

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chadly86
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If I were to make a quick summary of this movie, it would be "a good, but not great, action flick." I don't think this movie was intended to be innovative, to be great, to be memorable. What it was intended to be was entertaining, and it lived up to this expectation.

Harrison Ford is the master of remaining as low-key as possible. He has had so many films where he can over-emphasize, over-dramatize, and simply over-act. Ford has the maturity to keep this from happening, and he does so again in this film. Ford is supported quite well with such actors/actresses as James Earl Jones (reprising his role as Greer from The Hunt for Red October), Samuel L. Jackson, and Anne Archer. For an action flick, acting is much above average.

It was also suspenseful...thrilling. I thought the ending had a nice build-up and climax. I realize this is different from the book's ending...but remember, these are two different visions...not the same one. This brings up a big point in movie-watching: Comparing a movie to a book is the worst thing you can do. They are two completely different genres. More importantly, as I said before, they are two different visions.

I'm not a big action fan. I used to be, but anymore most stories are the same. To this end I would say Patriot Games is fairly mainstream. However, it was always fun to watch and sometimes thrilling to watch. I'm also not a big Tom Clancy fan, but I've given the movies based off his books a shot because again they are different visions. The result is (at least with Patriot Games) a good film to watch on a Saturday night with a bowl of popcorn. Don't expect great things, but don't expect to be disappointed, either.

Rating: 7/10

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Peach-2 from Netherlands
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Harrison Ford kicks some major butt in this film and proves again that he is the leading action star of his generation. Ford's action movie's never really seem silly, they always seem real. Alec Baldwin should have never let the character of Jack Ryan go, because Ford now personifies the super agent. Nice direction from Phillip Noyce and a great score from James Horner make this a very good action film.

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Spikeopath from United Kingdom
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Patriot Games is a more than serviceable thriller, perhaps a bit out of date when viewing it now, but still a very effective good against evil piece. The source material is so dense and intricate it was always going to be hard to condense that into a 2 hour movie but I feel the makers manage to keep it fleshy whilst making the respective characters interesting and watchable. The acting on show is more than adequate, Harrison Ford is great in the role of Jack Ryan, he manages to portray him as a sensitive family man who can step up to the plate when things get ugly, and Anne Archer is solid enough as the wife and mother caught up in the web of nastiness unfolding.

The baddies are led by the brooding Sean Bean who is a little under written, whilst Richard Harris is sadly underused, but the action set pieces make their mark and thankfully we get a riveting final reel that cements the steady ride we have under taken. It is formulaic to a degree, but that is OK if the combined efforts of all involved are spot on, and here they are, 7/10.

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Peach-2 from Netherlands
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Patriot Games is a very well done action movie. I didn't feel dumbed down by the plot and everyone took their role seriously. Harrison Ford is the best action star of his generation and this movie is a brillant example of how Hollywood can sometimes make a good action picture. The film is well cast and the direction by Phillip Noyce is top notch. Patriot Games is well worth your while, especially if you like smart action pictures and Harrison Ford.

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perfectbond
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In Patriot Games, the always reliable Harrison Ford stars as reluctant action hero Jack Ryan in Phillip Noyce's adaptation of Tom Clancy's Patriot Games. Good suspenseful action sequences always entertain, though the climatic boat chase isn't as impressive as it should be because it was filmed at night. Sean Bean is convincing and suprisingly sympathetic as IRA freedom fighter Sean Miller who lets his yearnings for revenge lead him astray from his cause. The talented James Earl Jones and Richard Harris are woefully underutilized though that's understandable considering this film is primarily a confrontation between Ford's Ryan and Bean's Miller. Solid if unspectacular, 7/10.

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l-k-bell from denver, colorado
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I have read all of the Tom Clancy fiction books and the first time I saw the Patriot Games I was very disappointed that the movie didn't follow the book more closely. I feel that the incident in England, the way it happened in the book is much more exciting and entertaining than the movie and it carries over to the gathering at the Ryan's home later in the movie and the ending in the book is even more dramatic. But, after watching the movie a few more times and reading the book several more times I realized that because there is so much that happens in the book, there is no way to fit it in the movie. I have come to the conclusion that the story line in the movie has captured the basic tale involved showing the type of person Jack Ryan is and the principals that he stands for throughout all of Tom Clancy's books.

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Idocamstuf from Greenville, NY
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I have wanted to see this film for quite a while now. Ive seen The Hunt For Red October(1990), and Clear and Present Danger(1994), and Patriot Games is much better than them. Patriot Games is a great thinking man's thriller, although its much less difficult to follow than "Clear and Present Danger". It has plenty of suspense and action, and Ford's acting is terrific. I am so surprised that Patriot Games is often considered the worst Clancy film, and "The Hunt For Red October" considered the best, but I think it should be the other way around. Overall a great suspenseful movie. 9 out of 10

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krillin123 from NSW, Australia
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I think this film's greatness (it is indeed great) is a credit more to Clancy than the film makers, because writing is the most crucial part of any film. Unfortunately, a novel adapted to a film will almost never be as good as the book because there just isn't enough time or money to include everything and make everything look as good as it reads. This is evident here. Having said that they certainly didn't leave it to the story to support itself. Impressive heroics from Ford and a superb bad guy performance from Sean Bean (strikingly similar to his performance in the James Bond film Golden Eye) turned Clancy's classy classic book into a classy film. I was also impressed to discover that the director was none other than Australia's Phillip Noyce. As is also sadly common among films made from books, the plot was a little hard to follow due to the audience having to fill in the gaps that were left by the film makers not having time or money to include it all.

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AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Argentina:16 / Australia:M / Brazil:12 / Canada:PA (Manitoba) / Canada:A (Nova Scotia) / Canada:AA (Ontario) / Canada:13+ (Quebec) / Finland:K-16 / Finland:K-12/9 (2012 reform re-rating) / Germany:16 / Iceland:16 / Netherlands:12 / New Zealand:PG / Peru:18 / Portugal:M/12 / Singapore:PG / South Korea:15 / Spain:18 / Sweden:15 / UK:15 / USA:R (Certificate #31598)