36 Years Later, the Best Jack Ryan Movie Officially Comes to Paramount+

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan has become one of the most iconic action heroes of the modern era, right up there with the likes of Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher. The CIA analyst has led multiple films and one of the most popular television shows of the 21st century. These days, the character mostly lives on Amazon Prime Video, but another streamer is now making a play for his legacy.

Paramount+ has just acquired what is widely hailed as the best Jack Ryan film to stream on its platform. The 1990 thriller is based on the very first novel in Clancy's Ryanverse, and Predator and Die Hard director John McTiernan was tasked with adapting it for the big screen. He hit it out of the park. McTiernan delivered a tight, edge-of-your-seat thriller that nailed the espionage themes and the constant cat-and-mouse beats of the story.

That movie is The Hunt for Red October, and it holds an impressive 88% critic and audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest of any Jack Ryan movie. And starting November 1, it will be available to stream on Paramount+. For anyone who only knows Ryan from the Prime Video era, it's the perfect chance to see where it all began.

What Is the Plot of 'The Hunt for Red October'?

Set during the Cold War, the film follows Marko Ramius, a Soviet submarine captain played by the late Sean Connery, who takes command of an advanced Typhoon-class nuclear submarine called the Red October. Shortly after leaving port, the ship suddenly begins heading toward the United States, which sets off alarms as everyone fears an attack. In reality, Ramius is planning to defect to the U.S., and CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) has to prove it before a misunderstanding pushes the two superpowers into war.

The film has been so iconic that Season 3 of John Krasinski's Jack Ryan series explicitly paid homage to it. In the show, Ryan reluctantly teams up with former Soviet soldier Luca Gorchurov (James Cosmo), and the finale, "Star on the Wall," puts Ryan in a very similar spot as the film, where he has to bridge communications between an American submarine and its Russian counterpart to avoid the start of World War III. So, for fans who especially loved Season 3 but haven't had a chance to see The Hunt for Red October, November is the perfect time to catch up.

The Hunt for Red October will be available to stream on Paramount+ starting November 1. Stay tuned at Collider for more.