Patriot Games and Arlington Road Movies - Essay Example

Movie Review Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts inserts Movies are meant to entertain, but they can play a great role in educating people on issues most important to the society as a whole. Terrorism is one of such issues of great concern. The two movies spoken about, below i.e., Patriot Games (Philip Noyce, 1992), and Airlington Road, Mark Pellington, 1999, are based on the theme of terrorism and succeed in entertaining and, to a great extent, educating people on issues of terrorism. Baumeister’s one point is that evil people are driven by egoism is to be noted in the light of the movie, Patriot Games (Philip Noyce, 1992). The actions of both Kevin O’Donnel and Sean Miller amply convey this fact. “ Our society in the West has, quite literally, an investment in perpetuating the myth of an evil force... Without it, movies and writing would be less interesting because evil villains represent in some powerful manner the way many people perceive the world”(R. F. Baumeister, W.H. Freeman & Co, 1996). People often think of evil as what is outside of them, and even if an evil action is chosen, there is a justification since there is something good in the expected outcome. This is the outlook of the terrorists. The discussion shows how people can be properly be made aware of the dangers of terrorism and how realistic the two movies are in conveying the facts regarding terrorism. In the movie Patriot Games, we see the fear of terrorism casting its spell throughout the life of Jack Ryan and his family. He and his family are on a visit England. He has worked as an intelligence agent in the U.S. A. his helps him to be vigilant. He is also making use of his London vacation for his research, as he is writing a book. He has met his wife Cathy an ophthalmological surgeon and daughter Sally and they are discussing where to go for dinner that evening. At that time there is an explosion behind them. He gets his family under cover and sees three men attacking a Rolls Roys. Taking advantage of his perfect position to interfere, he charges in and kills one man and has wounded another. The men are from the Ulster Liberation Army (ULA), an ultra-violent off shoot of the violent Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Now he becomes a local hero in England, as the occupants of the car he saved are the members of the Royal Family. But the head of the ULA Kevin O’Donnell is quite upset. Sean Miller, who had planned the operation, who is now caught, is also furious at Jack’s interference. The PIRA is also not happy with Kevin O’Donnell for attacking the Royal Family. Adl James Greer is happy to various organizations make use of this incident to further their own agendas. Now that he has to protect his family from the terrorists, Ryan is greatly engaged in intelligence and covert operations. But he is haunted by various questions (Patriot Games, 1992). Here we notice the fears of many people engaged in the fight against terrorism, and those who are innocent but prone to be attacked, as in the case of Ryan. The movie seems to be conveying a realistic picture of the situation where people fall prey to attacks by terrorists. Airlington Road, Mark Pellington, 1999, has a fantastic plot and entertains and thrills the audience. The movie makes the audience think too, of the cunning plan of the terrorists and how effectively they carry it out. The movie is noticeable for it presents before the audience uneasiness in the mind of a man who meets with certain doubtful situations in his life that too, when he is on the lookout for some means to be free of his agony over the recent death of his wife. Michael Faraday is a history professor. His wife was an FBI agent and was killed in an anti-terrorist operation. Michael is now living with his son Grant who is just ten years old. Both of them are sad over the demise of Leah, Michael’s wife. As they are living in the suburbs of Washington DC, new neighbors have arrived, which is a consolation for both Michael and his son. Grant and Brody Lang are great friends now. The neighbors are friendly with them, Oliver and Cheryl Lang try to draw Michal in to their lives, and a new spirit seems to emerge in Michal. However suspicion begins to creep into the mind of Michael about the neighbors as he catches Oliver for a few lies. They do not allow Michael to see certain parts of the house. He now begins to doubt more acutely about who the neighbors really are, and why they have come to Washington. Different opinions have been aroused regarding Michaels well-founded paranoia about the radical right or are the Langs up to something a lot more sinister than their cheerful smiles and manicured lawn would suggest?...His FBI agent wife, who was killed in the line of duty in a scene loosely based on the real-life incident. The plot is quite realistic. Faraday’s first doubt regarding the neighbors emerges soon after he takes their son Brady to the emergency room following a reported fire work accident. Michael’s girl friend Brooke witnesses a suspicious package delivery in a garage, she has understood that the fears of Faraday are true, and decides to inform him. But she accidently stumbles on Cheryl, who kills her and makes it appear that she died in a car crash. Later, when Faraday finds two voice messages left in his answering machine deleted and becomes more doubtful. The conspirators using a field trip with a scout-style organization to keep Faraday’s son Grant as an unknowing hostage, skillfully presents the style adopted today by the terrorists to carry out their plan in a malicious way. Now the great suspense begins and we see that the plot is made in a superb manner. We may see a bitter criticism of the movie, but at the same time which has an appreciation for it. “This almost never happens.”Arlington Road" is a clumsy and incompetent thriller for nine-tenths of its length but it has an ending so clever and that goes so wildly against expectations it almost exonerates the film” (Arnold, William, 1999). Using a rented car Faraday follows the van, Grant is in, and reaches the FBI headquarters. When he reaches the parking garage, he is informed by Whit that he has followed a wrong van, a little later as he rushes to the trunk of his rented car, then the hidden bomb in the car explodes killing Faraday and many others. After his death, it is reported that Faraday was a terrorist who took revenge for his wife’s death. Grant’s situation is now pathetic as he is not aware of his father’s innocence and is looked after by his relatives. Apart from being a thriller, this movie also warns us against the dangers of terrorism and its horrible effects. The themes, double life, terrorism and dangerous friends are conveyed convincingly and one leads and links to another. Reference List: R. F Baumeister, W.H. Freeman & Co (1996) Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty Retrieved 11 October 2009 from Patriot Games (1992) plot summary Retrieved 11 October 2009 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105112/plotsummary Arnold, William (1999) Clumsy Arlington Road nearly pulls a U-turn, Seattle pi movies Retrieved 11 October 2009 from Read More