Patriot Games (1992)
78%RT Audience Score: 72%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 3 nominations
Patriot Games doesn’t win many points for verisimilitude, but some entertaining set pieces — and Harrison Ford in the central role — more than compensate for its flaws
Patriot Games is like a rollercoaster ride, with its ups and downs. Some moments are thrilling and exciting, while others are just plain ridiculous. But hey, it’s Harrison Ford we’re talking about here, and who doesn’t love a good action movie with him in it? Plus, it’s got a pro-family message, so you can feel good about watching it with your parents. Just don’t expect it to be a masterpiece of political realism or anything.
Production Company(ies)
Fantasy Films, Bryna Productions N.V., Zvaluw
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong sexuality, and for language and violence
Year of Release
1992
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 12.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 56m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 5, 1992 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 26, 1999
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin, Sean Bean, Thora Birch, James Fox, directed by Phillip Noyce, written by Tom Clancy, W Peter Iliff, Donald Stewart, action, R rating, box office performance, $82.7M, reviewed by David Ansen, Anthony Lane, Adam Mars-Jones, Owen Gleiberman, Joseph McBride, Peter Travers, Mike Massie, Christopher Lloyd, David Nusair, James Kendrick, Vanessa Letts, Mace Neufeld, Robert Rehme, produced by Paramount Pictures, CIA, IRA, terrorism, revenge, family, London, United States, car accident, thriller, suspense, James Horner, soundtrack, special effects, sequel, Jack Ryan, Kevin O’Donnell, Sally Ryan, Lord Holmes
Worldwide gross: $178,051,587
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $381,123,971
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 399
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 41,562,047
US/Canada gross: $83,351,587
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $178,416,202
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 420
US/Canada opening weekend: $18,511,191
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $39,623,677
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 313
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $45,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $96,323,650
Production budget ranking: 429
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $51,870,285
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $232,930,036
ROI to date (est.): 157%
ROI ranking: 745
Anne Archer – Cathy Muller Ryan
Patrick Bergin – Kevin O’Donnell
Sean Bean – Sean Miller
Thora Birch – Sally Ryan
James Fox – Lord Holmes
Director(s)
Phillip Noyce
Writer(s)
Tom Clancy, W. Peter Iliff, Donald Stewart
Producer(s)
Mace Neufeld, Robert Rehme
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (11)
Much of Patriot Games is routine: good guys and bad guys running around with heavy artillery. But at its best moments, Noyce and Ford snap the genre back to life.
February 9, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Patriot Games is a good laugh, and a good look at Harrison Ford, and any connection with political truth, or with the real layout of London, is entirely coincidental.
January 4, 2018
Anthony Lane
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It flounders from one absurdity to another, with results that are hilarious when they aren’t insulting. There is as much political realism in the film as there is in Naked Gun 2 1/2, except that in Patriot Games it matters.
November 15, 2017
Adam Mars-Jones
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: C+
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
While Ford is a solid blend of thought and action in his James Bondish role, and his need to protect his family gives the film some gripping moments, the film’s moral viewpoint is strictly neanderthal.
October 30, 2008
Joseph McBride
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The movie kills most of the fun by watering down Clancy.
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
More modern than its predecessor and certainly more intense, this competent follow-up is, almost inarguably, the best Jack Ryan entry of the series.
September 24, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
A very good film that’s overshadowed by being a sequel to a perfect one, Patriot Games is interesting for swapping out lead actors for very different takes on the same character in the middle of a trilogy.
June 2, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
Christopher Lloyd
The Film Yap
…a thoroughly engrossing and often impressively exciting thriller…
August 24, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
manages the action with verve and efficiency while also giving the film a more nuanced emotional sensibility, emphasizing Ryan as a father who above all wants to protect his family, not save the world
September 17, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
The film is too fancy and not sufficiently harsh.
July 25, 2018
Vanessa Letts
The Spectator
Spy thriller mixes nonstop violence with pro-family message.
May 27, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Tracy Moore
Common Sense Media…
Plot
Former CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, is in England with his family on vacation when he suddenly witnesses an explosion outside Buckingham Palace. It is revealed that some people are trying to abduct a member of the Royal Family, but Jack intervenes, killing one of them and capturing the other and stops the plan in its tracks. Afterward, he learns that they’re Irish revolutionaries, and the two men are brothers. During his court hearing, the one that’s still alive vows to get back at Jack but is sentenced, and that seems to be the end of it. However, while the man is being transported, he is broken out. Jack learns of this but doesn’t think there’s anything to worry about, but when he is at the Naval Academy, someone tries to kill him. He learns that they are also going after his family, and so he rushes to find them: safe but having also been the victims of a failed assassination. That’s when Jack decides to rejoin the CIA, and they try to find the man before he makes another attempt.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sean Bean delivers an excellent performance as the vengeful terrorist Sean Miller.
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