Tom Clancy quickly became one of the best-selling authors with his book, The Hunt for Red October. Since his first book, Clancy has sold over 100 million copies, and those same books have turned into movies, TV shows, and video games. Some of the biggest stars over the last three decades, including Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and John Krasinski, have played the role of Jack Ryan.
The success of Tom Clancy is impressive because people of all ages know who he is. Whether it’s the 10-12-year-olds playing his video games or the adults watching the series on Prime Video, his lasting impact will be for generations to come. Very few people can say they’ve touched different forms of entertainment the way Clancy has.
To mark Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan season 3, we used IMDb ratings to determine the best shows and movies from the author.
Top 9 Best and Highest Rated Tom Clancy Movies and TV Shows of All Time
9 – Netforce (1999)
NetForce followed the story of the internet becoming a massive issue for the FBI (boy, does that sound familiar over 20 years later). The movie was a TV movie that aired on ABC. The film starred Scott Bakula and Kris Kristofferson, with Robert Lieberman directing. Unfortunately, the first movie post-Harrison Ford didn’t fair as well as the first as you can see, it is the lowest-rated project to stem from any of Clancy’s work.
IMDb score: 5.0
8 – OP Center (1995)
Op Center was initially scheduled to be released as a movie. However, they decided that the nearly three-hour film would air as a four-hour mini-series instead. The film follows Paul Hood, an appointed director of the OP center, and on his first day, he dealt with a massive terroristic threat. He is tasked to find a way to take down the people behind the attack. The political thriller starred Harry Hamlin as Paul Hood, with Lewis Teague in the director’s chair.
IMDb score: 5.7
7 – Without Remorse (2021)
The most recent film in the Tom Clancy space came from Prime Video in 2021 with Without Remorse. The film was written by Taylor Sheridan and Will Staples, with Michael B. Jordan playing John Kelly, an elite Navy Seal who attempts to hunt down his wife’s murderer. There were many expectations for the film considering everyone involved, but it fell flat for critics and audiences.
IMDb score: 5.8
6 – Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
In doing my research for Tom Clancy’s projects, this was the one I completely forgot even existed. Chris Pine plays a younger Jack Ryan who attempts to find out who is behind the attempted attack on the US economy. Oscar-winner Kenneth Branagh directed the film with Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley starring alongside Pine.
IMDb score: 6.2
5 – The Sum of All Fears (2002)
My personal favorite Jack Ryan was Ben Affleck (totally biased), who played him in the 2002 film The Sum of All Fears. Ryan is in charge of stopping a nuclear weapon from going off at a football game. Affleck starred next to Morgan Freeman in this high-octane thriller. The film had the biggest budget of any of the Clancy films, sitting at almost $70 million. However, it succeeded at the box office, making the third most in the franchise with $193 million.
IMDb score: 6.5
4 – Patriot Games (1992)
Fun fact: Harrison Ford is the only man to play Jack Ryan in two movies. The first was Patriot Games which most people consider Tom Clancy’s best book he wrote by boasting a 4.1/5 on Goodreads. The 1992 film saw Ryan get chased down by a group of killers after he interrupted an assassination attempt. I will say this is probably my favorite movie of the franchise.
IMDb score: 6.8
3 – Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Although it lands 2nd amongst movies (3rd overall), Clear and Present Danger is the highest-grossing Tom Clancy film making $215 million at the box office. It’s also the highest-rated film by Metacritic and landed a very hard-to-get “A” score from CinemaScore. The second film starring Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan sees Ryan get caught in a war between the US government and the Colombian drug cartel. It has one of the better court scenes you will ever see in a film.
IMDb score: 6.9
2 – The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Sometimes it is hard to find something as good as the original, and that can be said for Tom Clancy’s first film, The Hunt for Red October. The film stars Sean Connery as Marko Ramius, a captain who heads into the US in a submarine, leaving the government scrambling to find out his plan. We also see a young Alec Baldwin play Jack Ryan in the role. The movie made over $200 million at the box office and boasts an 88% Rotten Tomatoes score with critics and audiences.
IMDb score: 7.5
1 – Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2018-)
We have reached the highest-rated project in Tom Clancy’s film/tv career, the Prime Video series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. The series debuted in 2018 and saw John Krasinski step into the role of Jack Ryan. The series follows a younger Jack Ryan, who is thrust into action to attempt to discover how terrorists communicate. But, of course, this leads him to fall deep into uncertainty, questioning everything.
After its debut, season one was met with rave reviews across all platforms. From its 8.2 scores on IMDb to the 75% Rotten Tomatoes score by critics and a massive 88% Rotten Tomatoes score by the audience. Due to that success, the series was quickly picked up for a second season.
However, it didn’t find that same success with audiences. Although it does sit on IMDb with a rating of 7.6, the series has a 58% Rotten Tomatoes score by audiences (66% by critics). That said, Prime Video picked up the series for a third season, debuting on December 21, 2022.
IMDb score: 8.0/10
So there you have it, the Top 9 Best and Highest Rated Tom Clancy Movies and TV Shows of All Time. Do you have any preferences of your own? Let us know in the comments.
How can Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan be “the highest-rated project in Tom Clancy’s film/tv career”? It has nothing to do with his books, and he had been dead for 5 years when it was released!