Movie with Abe: Without Remorse

Without Remorse
Directed by Stefano Sollima
Released April 30, 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)

A title like “Without Remorse” doesn’t leave too much to the imagination. Any character who is introduced at the start of such a film isn’t likely to be happy for long, and it’s reasonable to expect a chain of devastating events that leave a protagonist with no option other than to get even with those who have destroyed their lives. Without remorse can also imply without limits, as someone who believes they have nothing left to lose will do anything they can to settle a score and try to fill a void. That doesn’t always lead to an invigorating or triumphant cinematic experience, and this film fails to distinguish itself from similar action or revenge projects.

Michael B. Jordan is John Kelly, a Navy SEAL who returns home from a tour in Syria and manages to survive an assassination attempt that kills a number of his fellow team members and his pregnant wife. Determined to get answers, Kelly heads back into the field with a loyal SEAL ally (Jodie Turner-Smith) to uncover the truth, crossing paths with an uncooperative CIA player (Jamie Bell) and the Secretary of Defense (Guy Pearce) along the way.

This film’s full title includes the name Tom Clancy, likely so audiences will associate it with the universe in which it is set, that of Jack Ryan, a successful property who anchored several films and is currently the star of his own show with John Krasinski on Amazon Prime Video. Ryan doesn’t appear in this film but the source material with Clark associates them. There is plentiful action to be found here, but the pacing is rather expected and unengaging, presenting fight scenes and hand-to-hand combat without much real interest in their outcome given Clark’s apparent physical prowess.

Jordan is no stranger to taking over spinoff franchises, like the very popular “Creed” series whose next installment he is set to direct. Here, his acting talents are wasted in a thinly-conceived role that gives him little to do other than look angry and walk around with a gun. Turner-Smith, Bell, and Pearce are similarly strong performers without much purpose in this film, one that is clearly a setup for a sequel and other future endeavors whose contents will likely be much more interesting and worthwhile than this unextraordinary introductory effort that doesn’t aim very high and leaves much to be desired.

C