Jack Ryan

Jack Ryan notices something in financial intelligence that other people have missed, then finds himself much closer to the danger than an analyst's desk ought to allow. John Krasinski's version gives Tom Clancy's character an approachable manner before the assignments become increasingly physical.

Wendell Pierce is a major attraction as James Greer. He gives the partnership experience and impatience, stopping Ryan's intelligence from automatically becoming the only useful perspective in the room. Their exchanges help ground a series otherwise keen to travel and escalate.

The action and international settings are more dependable pleasures than the finer points of the conspiracies. It is a polished adventure thriller, not a convincing guide to intelligence operations, and some later plotting becomes increasingly familiar.

If you want a straightforward run of investigations, pursuits and dangerous meetings, it is easy enough to watch. The Americans is the stronger choice for sustained character work; Reacher offers a more bluntly physical alternative with less institutional machinery around its lead.