There’s been a heated debate over whether Hollywood still has movie stars, but there are still some people who can draw audiences to theaters based on their presence alone. At the top of the pack is Michael B. Jordan, who’s racked up an impressive number of roles over the years. There’s his turn as Adonis Creed in the Creedfranchise, portraying one of Marvel’s most layered antagonists as Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, and the dual role of Stack and Smoke in Sinners. It’s that last role that won Jordan an Oscar, but it’s not the first time he displayed the intensity needed for an action role.
That honor goes to Tom Clancy’sWithout Remorse. Based on the novel of the same name, Without Remorse stars Jordan as John Kelly, a former Navy SEAL who is attacked in the middle of the night by a group of Russian soldiers who murder his wife. Kelly sets out to avenge his wife, covering a tangled web of secrets in the process. Jordan isn’t the only big name attached to Without Remorse, as its screenplay was co-written by none other than Taylor Sheridan. While Sheridan might have made some significant changes to Without Remorse‘s story, he crafted a searing action-thriller that let Jordan show off his range.
‘Without Remorse’ Showcases A Different Side To Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan as John Kelly in Without RemorseImage via Prime Video
Prior to Without Remorse, Michael B. Jordan was best known for his magnetic presence, whether it was his breakout role in Chronicleor bigger movies like Creed and Black Panther. Without Remorse shows that he could deliver some fiery intensity in his performances, which helps sell Kelly’s desire to avenge his wife. This is especially prominent in a scene where Kelly corners a corrupt Russian diplomat, then lights said diplomat’s car on fire and locks himself inside until he gets the names of the assassins who came after him. Though it might seem like a far cry from his previous work, Jordan admitted in an interview that he tries to put a little of himself in every role he plays.
“You take these roles that aren’t written specifically for [you] because they have a platform, and you inject yourself and your experience into the character. That’s the Trojan horse.”
Kelly’s intense dedication to his mission would match the same intensity that Jordan brought to Sinners a few years later. It’s also a key indicator that you’re watching a Taylor Sheridan project, as most of his characters tend to share that trait. In fact, one could argue that Sheridan built his entire television empire on the idea of men willing to go to any length to hold onto what’s theirs. Yellowstonehad John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his family fighting to hold onto their ranch, while Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown both zeroed in on men in positions of power willing to lie and kill to hold onto that power. Given that Tom Clancy also tends to write these types of characters in his books, it’s no surprise that Sheridan gravitated to Without Remorse.
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
A Sequel To ‘Without Remorse’ Is In The Works
Despite a less-than-stellar critical rating of 45% on Rotten Tomatoes, Without Remorse is slated to receive its own sequel. The seeds for that sequel are sown in the movie’s final moments, where John Kelly — now calling himself “John Clark” — reveals that he’s gathering operatives for a project called “Rainbow.” Fans of Tom Clancy’s work know that Clark is referring to Rainbow Six, the counter-terrorism unit consisting of soldiers from across the globe. The upcoming Rainbow Six movie assembled its own all-star team, including director Chad Stalheski (John Wick, Highlander). While updates on Rainbow Six have been slow, it more than likely won’t involve Taylor Sheridan as he’s set to leave Paramount for Universal, co-writing another military thriller with Call of Duty. If you’re still counting down the days until Reacherreturns, then give Without Remorse a watch.
