Review of The Sum of All Fears (2002) by Filipeneto — 23 Mar 2019

The film begins with the death of a moderate Russian president and his replacement by a radical named Nemerov. To know who they are dealing with, the American Government recruits an academic who has just written an article about it. However, there seems to be a drop in the loyalty of Russian officials and there are personnel willing to provoke a nuclear war between both countries.

The film is a regular thriller based on yet another imminent threat of war between the major world powers. The first part of the film prepares the events, while the rest is the unfolding and worsening of the military crisis, already in a climate of war. For me, the plot worked reasonably, taking some questions of logic and plausibility that seem to me very relevant (such as the fact that the military did not go in search of the nuclear bomb that the plane was carrying when it crashed, or the quiet walks that certain characters give the scenario where, hours before, a devastating nuclear bomb exploded).

The cast is satisfactory to the level of this film: Morgan Freeman is competent, to see Richard Marner again was a pleasant surprise and James Cromwell did his part well. Ben Affleck, in turn, sounds a lot to himself and to dozens of other characters. There are few differences between this character and the one he offered us in "Armageddon".

From the technical point of view, I emphasize the excellent cinematography and the good use of colors, but also the effects of contrast and dark light. There may have been, in part of the film, a change of lens for more diffused luminance when necessary. The special effects and sound effects are also very good, except for the scene where the bomb explodes, because it never seemed realistic enough to be believable.

Overall, it's a medium movie, which is not terribly good or truly inedible. Nice to see, it's not the kind of movie that makes us think.