‘Without Remorse’ Review: A Clear and Present Throwback to 90s Action-Thrillers

Without Remorse is an updated version of Tom Clancy’s Vietnam-era novel of the same name. The 109-minute Amazon release stars a bulked-up Michael B Jordan as US Navy Seal John Clark, who is a part of a mission to rescue a Russian captive in war-torn Syria. Two members of the mission are killed once the Navy Seals come back to America. John escapes, however his pregnant wife doesn’t.

Director Stefano Sollimo and writers Taylor Sheridan and Will Staples provide John and his commander Officer Karen (Jodie Turner-Smith) the complete length of the film to figure out the obvious. Until then, Sollimo treats us to the film’s leading and redeeming feature: glibly choreographed, tension-filled, and extremely effective action set-pieces, as well as two protracted sequences that talk poorly of Russia’s intelligence-gathering skills.

Michael B Jordan’s appearance ready to guide the franchise that this spin-off from Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels is aiming for. The movie’s nasty-brutish-short approach enhances the threadbare plot, however, the injuries heal too quickly. The lack of Remorse extends to the requirement to form a long-lasting impact.

Without regret has one or two attention-grabbing action sequences, like one wherever Kelly sets the car a flare and then enters it to interrogate a suspect. Or the one where he takes on an outsized part of the Russian police force and therefore the paramilitary by himself so his fellow troopers will get away from the scene. The action has identical significant artillery sound style in several 'gritty' thrillers created by Tony Scott and Michael Mann throughout the 90s. Michael B Jordan's physical readiness for the role is rarely in question, however, he never absolutely becomes a personality with an arc. We never quite determine together with his sorrow and so are not endowed in his thirst for revenge.

Unlike most of the previous Clancy films, Without Remorse could be a laborious R-rated action film that favors toilsome and brutal acts of onscreen violence. Director Stefano Solima has been down this road before in Sicario: Day of the Soldado and therefore the glorious Amazon mini-series ZeroZeroZero, both devilish critiques of how American imperialism overlaps with international black markets.

The film would benefit from more fighting and less speechifying since Jordan especially is incredibly smart at the former. The actor’s bottled-up intensity, convincingly unleashed in Black Panther and Creed, is this film’s greatest quality. Therefore for those people who grew up watching this type of pitiless akimbo-cinema, Without Remorse scratches an itch that contemporary studio filmmaking forgot about its existence.

Final Score – [6.9/10]
Reviewed by – Ritika Kispotta
Follow her @KispottaRitika on Twitter (https://twitter.com/KispottaRitika)