Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 25, 2020

The first season of Amazon's Jack Ryan took the streaming world by storm, offering an updated, but not compromised, vision for Novelist Tom Clancy's most famous fictional hero, a young CIA analyst who finds himself in the midst of political intrigue and danger. Amazon set the show in the modern era rather than the late 80s/early 90s when the character was first introduced to the literary world and found a home on the big screen in hits like The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger. Season two continues the story, offering an increasingly gritty, politically dense, and incessantly dangerous adventure for the title hero, dropping him into the steamy jungles and political hotbed of Venezuela for his most dangerous and complex mission yet.

Official synopsis: After tracking a potentially suspicious shipment of illegal arms in the Venezuelan jungle, CIA Officer Jack Ryan, portrayed by John Krasinski (A Quiet Place), heads down to South America to investigate. There he joins forces with his former boss James Greer (Wendell Pierce, The Wire) and CIA Station chief Mike November (Michael Kelly, House of Cards). As Jack’s investigation threatens to uncover a far-reaching conspiracy, the President of Venezuela launches a counter-attack that hits home for Jack, leading him and his fellow operatives on a global mission spanning the United States, UK, Russia, and Venezuela to unravel the President’s nefarious plot and bring stability to a country on the brink of chaos.

Season two engages in complicated geopolitical intrigue in a story that is perhaps not so robust as season one's, offering satisfying entertainment but a story that doesn't see Ryan grow quite so much as in season one. Season two finds a new setting, introduces a few new characters, and offers enough in the way of juicy intrigue and robust action to check all the boxes, but there's little of the dynamic intensity, engaging character beats, and narrative immersion as found in season one. Here, Ryan's work in Venezuela is set against a background of the nation's juxtaposition of power and poverty and the politics that play into it all. It's a story that could easily be ripped out of the headlines but it's also little more than red meat for the show runners, allowing Ryan and company -- including James Greer and some newcomers -- to carry on by spinning in dramatic circles rather than blaze forward as was the case in season one. This is solid entertainment, no question about it; production values are excellent for a TV show and the performances are terrific, particularly the (here slightly downplayed in terms of screen time) relationship between Ryan and Greer. That said, the season simply lacks that killer instinct that made a promising debut and an instant hit out of its predecessor.

The following episodes comprise season two. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging.

Disc One:

• Cargo: Jack Ryan searches for the truth behind Venezuela's transactions with various World Powers. James Greer, about to get sidelined from his new post in Russia, joins Jack in Venezuela and the two find themselves in the midst of a Venezuelan leader's re-election effort.
• Tertia Optio: Jack is granted permission from Senator Chapin to stay in Venezuela. President Reyes denies involvement in the events that are keeping Jack in country. Meanwhile, Jack and Harry team up to follow a lead that could create dissension within the ranks.
• Orinoco: The U.S. Special Activities team lands in Venezuela where Jack's intel leads them to a militia guarded compound. Deep in the jungle, Jack's search for answers puts the whole team in danger. President Reyes' opponent, Gloria Bonalde, proves to be a real contender in the upcoming election.
• Dressed to Kill: Relieved of duty in Venezuela, Jack follows a new trail to London and seeks the help of MI5, only to discover the man he's after is also after him. Back in Venezuela, Reyes makes Gloria an offer.

Disc Two:

• Blue Gold: Using Max's daughter as bait, Jack and Harry convince Max to meet face to face. Stranded in the jungle, Marcus stumbles across a prisoner camp. Greer visits Gloria hoping to draw a connection between Reyes and her missing husband.
• Persona Non Grata: Reyes accuses the U.S. of tampering with the election. The U.S. Embassy is evacuated. Jack, Greer and Mike November must decide whether to follow orders or go off the grid. Reyes' men pursue Matice and the American soldiers in the jungle.
• Dios y Federación: The election in Venezuela is moved up. Stranded in a hostile country, Jack and Mike fight for their lives, while Greer is interrogated. The Ubarri family must decide to flee or face Reyes.
• Strongman: Jack heads to the Presidential Palace to retrieve Greer. When the polls are shutdown, violent protests erupt outside the palace, and Jack must make a decision that could determine his future.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jack Ryan: Season Two was shot digitally, and the picture is every bit as exceptional as its season one counterpart. The image is meticulously clear, delivering high end detail and relentless sharpness throughout. Facial details are exceptionally rendered, displaying natural features like facial hairs and pores with tangible clarity and presenting blood and grime and sweat with intimacy in more demanding action scenes and labor-intensive locales alike. Environments are rich and intricate, particularly dense jungle settings and cramped urban locations in Venezuela, though certainly more refined office spaces and the like enjoy the sort of tactile clarity fans expect, too. Colors are strong across the board, yielding rich, diverse tones throughout urban Venezuela with significant pop. The nation's lush natural greens enjoy similarly impressive contrast. Red blood and fiery explosions, both seen with some regularity, also dazzle with rich tonal output. Skin tones appear spot-on and black levels are never problematic. Noise and banding are kept in check, neither offering much of a problem beyond a few small bursts.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jack Ryan: Season Two's Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers both high energy and impressive subtlety alike. The track offers a healthy selection of environmental ambience, beginning with rolling ocean waves at season's start and continuing on with various examples of immersive city and natural jungle din, the former both for bustling exteriors and various interiors, like bars and offices. It's refined, well defined, and takes full advantage of the generous channel allotment afforded to it all. Likewise, music plays with seamless fidelity and expert stage presence. Fronts dominate but the surrounds certainly carry enough content, and at just the right volume, to deliver a fully immersive experience that, like the atmospheric supports, perfectly draws the listener into any given scene. Action effects engage with high yield activity. Gunfire is sharp and crisp regardless of gun type or location. Explosions hit with a satisfying punch and spaciousness. There's no shortage of immersive action activity; the entire stage transforms into the show's various battlefields. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and plays from the center channel speaker with a few examples of more expansive reverb as the situation warrants, such as during a string of news clips played in Ryan's classroom early in the season.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Jack Ryan: Season Two contains deleted scenes from various episodes on both discs. No DVD or digital copies are included, but this release does ship with an embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): From "Cargo:" Take the Stairs (0:33). From "Dressed to Kill:" Jungle Struggles (1:16) and Eyes in the Sky (0:39).

Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): From "Persona Non Grata:" Blood Trail (0:22). From "Dios y Federacion:" House Arrest (1:20), Carlos Is Missing (2:55), and Assassinating Reyes (2:46). For "Strongman: Empty Cell (0:43), Another Mission (2:23), "Sorry Jack, I Have to Go" (1:39), and Greer Makes Jack an Offer (1:53).

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jack Ryan: Season Two delivers perfectly acceptable entertainment, highlighted by high end production values and rock-solid performances, but it is narratively wanting and fails to push the envelope or push the characters, qualities that made the first season so special. Paramount's two-disc season two release includes scant extras -- a handful of deleted scenes -- but does deliver dynamic video and audio presentations. Recommended.