“Without Remorse” released on April 30 on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video. It joins the long list of Tom Clancy books that were turned into movies. 

John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) is a navy seal whose world gets turned upside down after he returns home. Even though it is a story about revenge, it just lacks luster. Where is the massive tension? The John Wick level of comment to getting his revenge? Or the drive built up by anger? All things that make a great revenge story.

On the other hand Jordan did not falter in his role as John Kelly. He brings the same level of commitment as he has with his other roles, bringing out the realism of the characters. However the role he had taken with John Kelly is a step down in my mind. I am used to seeing him play major characters that pop out of the screen, like Killmonger from Disney’s “Black Panther,” but John Kelly just does not stand out of a crowd. Usually he plays someone who you are rooting for, or against, and John Kelly felt like neither. His character never really evolves over the course of the movie, an existing reminder of Pandemic Films.

“Without Remorse” along with other movies that came out during the pandemic have been major let downs. “Mortal Kombat” for example I was so hyped up for, but it wasn’t that good of a movie, so that begs the question, what is happening to movies that are made during the pandemic. Stories of films just aren’t getting that same pre-pandemic quality, with fleshed out stories that drew in viewers, and that may be due to the lack of revision and test audiences.

“Without Remorse” like other Pandemic Films did not live up to the hype, although I do recommend seeing it. It is worth a watch and a good movie, it just isn’t the high caliber films that I am used to seeing, that is why I am giving it a 7/10.