Reviewed 13 Aug 2002             Sum Of All Fears starts and ends as 'action' - much to its credit.    It however has a flawed and highly questionable Major Premis -that the Israelis would have scrambled a single F-4 (they showed an A-6) with an A-Bomb on a mission to scorch an unnamed target in Syria or Egypt because they were on the verge of losing the '73 war.    Luckily for Baghdad, or perhaps Cairo, the Israeli pilot accidentally flies into a mountaintop while looking at a picture of his wife.    The aircraft disintegrates, and the bomb augurs into the desert, undetonated.    The Israelis don't bother to go look for it, or even tell the US about it.   Hey, its only an A-bomb.    How many things do we see wrong with this picture?
        Woops (!) ...the viewer can't quite swallow how the Russian scientists handle the radioactive plutonium sphere with only a pair of rubber gloves and do not experience the same deadly effects the desert Arabs did from just being around the still-assembled weapon.    Also, while Morgan Freeman as Bill Cabot, was the right man for the job, the unsophisticated, baby-faced Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) was a difficult 'round peg' in the CIA hotshot 'square hole'.
        Assuming we buy into all of the above -and it is easy enough to do with Phil Alden Robinson's smooth production- the story is well told and "moves right along".   With the exception of a few histrionics, the dialog and acting are excellent.    There are some unusual and terrifying special effects.   The plot is timely, in light of the West's wakeup call last September 11th, and the all-too-real spectre of loose platonium on the international black market.
        Enduring Line Or Phrase:   "...I don't think you're ugly."

Reviewed by Narada for Bangkok Eyes - 13 Aug 2002

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