Toad

Are you like me...I think that Harrison Ford would have been great in Hunt for Red October, yet I still think that Baldwin would have been fun in the other two (and he also could have propelled his career to another level...maybe)!

bboisvert

While I love Harrison Ford as an "action movie guy", I've always felt he was just wrong for the role of Jack Ryan.

Maybe it's because I feel he's too old for the part (as written in the novels) or maybe it's just that I think Alec Baldwin nailed the part in Red October. I realize there were studio politics and other issues with him in the role, but I would have loved to see him continue.

das Monkey

While I love Baldwin on SNL, I've never like most of his film work. Strangely, though, I've always found The Hunt for Red October to be the best Clancy adaptation. Is it because of Baldwin? That's hard to say. He really does an excellent job in the character. And I get more of a Hollywood feel when Ford plays the part, so I guess I'd like to have seen what Baldwin could have done with the role.

das

Toad

Odd that you mention that. I had a conversation with Lorne Michaels once who said that of all his hosts and cast members through all the years, Alec Baldwin would be his number 1 choice on an SNL "dream team". I tend to agree with both of you!

BT

I agree that Alec Baldwin totally nailed jack Ryan in THFRO. I was disappointed to find out that he wasn't going to continue being Jack in the next movies. You can always count on Harrison Ford for a convincing performance, but Alec could've done so much with that role. I would've loved to see him in the next two.

*shrug* oh well..

-BT

p.s. A little off-topic, but are there any plans to re-release these movies all done up with extras and whatnot?

The Antipodean

I really haven't thought much of any of the Jack Ryan movies to date, they just aren't particularly memorable to me. Then again I'm not into that whole espionage genre and haven't read any of the books. For what it's worth, though, I did think Baldwin was more appropriate than Ford was.

FonMan

I thought Baldwin was great in the first movie, but then something changed. Baldwin started with his politcal rhetoric and bashing all the things that I support. This is his right to do so, but now I cant stand the man or anything that he does. So now, Harrison seems like the man for the job.

Admittedly, this is a personal thing. But if celebrities are going to use their "fame" as a tool to get their political agendas and positions heard, then they will suffer the ramifications if people do not agree.

Did anyone else notice that he has not been an "A" list actor ever since he started popping off? The biggest thing that I have seen him in is an episode of the Simpsons and the voice of a dog in "Cats & Dogs"

ipkevin

Uh, I think his string of classic blockbusters (listed below) had more to do with his falling off the A-list than any political agenda. Unless it's on the movie screen, the majority of people don't pay any attention to words coming out of actors' mouths in my experience.

Mercury Rising (1998)
Heaven's Prisoners (1996)
Juror, The (1996)
Shadow, The (1994)
Getaway, The (1994)
Malice (1993) <- Okay, this one was a mild success
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
Marrying Man, The (1991)

It's impressive that he could consecutively put out so many shitty and/or difficult-to-market movies.

But his cool voice means he'll continue to get work even after audiences are sick of his face.

BigStinky

I think the Jack Ryan character that Harrison Ford played is a more emotional character whose actions are influenced more by his sense of loyalty to his country, and friends and by his sense of right and wrong.

But the Ryan character that Baldwin played didn't have the same level of depth, whether that's because of a deficiency in the writing or maybe that's simply what the pacing and story required -which is what I tend to believe. In HFRO, Baldwin is interested in acquiring the submarine for its intelligence value. And that's the extent of his motivation. The movie doesn't explain much else about him.

All in all, I prefer the Ford version. And I can't help that my opinion of Baldwin is affected by his politics - even though he strikes me as a nice person, he did promise to leave the U.S. if the current president was elected. And that's wacky.

raithen

While I believe Harrison Ford is a "better" actor than Alec Baldwin, the latter was brilliant in The Hunt For Red October. To be honest, it's probably the only film that I could give that kind of praise to Baldwin.

But as I alluded to in another thread, Baldwin is brilliant on SNL when he hosts. They need to give this guy some more comedic roles! He has fantastic timing in comedy (at least on that show) and he just exudes the idea that he's having a lot of fun.

Cheers,

-matt

raithen

I kind of disagree with this. I think they establish, to an extent, Ryan's admiration and respect for Ramius. His first objective is obviously the boat, but I've always felt watching the movie that Ryan sincerely wanted to help Ramius and his crew defect.

-matt

Numanoid

Amazing how subjective all this is. IMO, Alec Baldwin could act rings around Ford even if Baldwin had his hands tied behind his back and a black sack over his face. Ford has two expressions, I'll call them "angry" and "slightly less angry". Baldwin is one of the greatest actors of his generation, not only on film, but also in live theater. Unfortunately, his film roles have been fairly poor choices. I don't know whether that has anything to do with his politics or not (probably not as Hollywood tends to be fairly liberal), but the fact remains. I would have loved to see Baldwin in the subsequent Ryan films.

chanster

Hunt for Red October is simply a better story than the other Jack Ryan novels. I think Baldwin did fine in Hunt, but Harrison did a fine job with the books he was presented.

Ginwen

I would've preferred Baldwin in all of them (even though I like Harrison Ford). Harrison Fords just too old--certain aspects of the stories work better with a younger guy.

Nonetheless, I liked all the movies fine.

B.A.

My sentiments exactly - Baldwin could have used the work, obviously, and they could have prolonged the original storylines a little longer since he is younger than Harrison Ford by a few years. THFRO was definitely the best of the bunch.

Deftones

Harrison Ford b/c he plays the intellectual role much better.

jetflair

I was just discussing this at work. I would have preferred to see Baldwin in all of them. The reasons for my preference have already been well stated by previous posters:

"While I love Harrison Ford as an "action movie guy", I've always felt he was just wrong for the role of Jack Ryan.

"I agree that Alec Baldwin totally nailed jack Ryan in THFRO. I was disappointed to find out that he wasn't going to continue being Jack in the next movies. "

"Alec Baldwin could act rings around Ford even if Baldwin had his hands tied behind his back and a black sack over his face."

Not only did Baldwin do a supurb acting job in Red October, his performance reflected the essence of the somewhat complex Jack Ryan character from the books perfectly. Ford gave us two generic, if decent, action movie roles.

And don't even get me started on Ben Affleck....grrrrrrrrr