Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Intense violence, language, smoking in global spy adventure.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN: GHOST WAR, agent Jack Ryan (John Krasinksi) is reeled back into the CIA by his friend/mentor/former boss, James Greer (Wendell Pierce). The mission sounds simple enough—pick up a package in Dubai with old partner Mike November (Michael Kelly)—but things are never straightforward in the CIA. When the mission goes immediately awry, Ryan realizes he's been thrust back into a global plot that matches him with MI6 officer Emma Marlowe (Sienna Miller) and involves a rogue black ops team and threats that will hit close to home.
Is It Any Good?
This international adventure will satisfy fans of the characters and past series and films, yet this foray feels more subdued than its predecessors. Krasinski drops hints of his characteristic sarcasm, but he and his cohort in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War feel muted even amidst their globe-trotting exploits. It's a concession to the times they live in. Operatives reeling from the fallout of forever wars and covert operations gone awry, political systems and institutions fast losing the public's trust—this is not the milieu where a patriot and hero like Ryan originates or thrives.
This is a world of grey tones, not black-and-white certainty, a reality underscored in the film's palette. The story revolves around this, with agents questioning each other's past actions and the justifications of war. Ryan and his new MI6 female counterpart, a welcome addition in Miller, are seasoned, and they're more cynical about both their work and their shabby personal lives. Whether viewers will empathize with all this malaise and moral uncertainty remains to be seen. What viewers will have to do, though, is pay close attention to catch the explanations and exposition, as the dialogues here often move as fast as the nonstop action.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Here Jack teams up with MI6 officer Emma Marlowe. What are the challenges of working with someone who has different backgrounds or goals than you?
The movie features "ghost cells" and rogue units operating completely outside official government oversight. Why is accountability so important for people who hold power?
How would you describe the mood of this film?
If you've seen other Jack Ryan films or the series starring these same main actors, or read Tom Clancy's books, how does this film compare? What's new and different? What has stayed the same?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : May 20, 2026
- Cast : John Krasinski , Sienna Miller , Wendell Pierce
- Director : Andrew Bernstein
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Amazon Prime Video
- Genre : Thriller
- Topics : Book Characters , Friendship , History ( War: Other )
- Run time : 105 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and language
- Last updated : May 22, 2026
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