| In the Book |
In the Movie |
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Ryan breaks into Ritter's safe to steal files. |
Ryan hacks Ritter's computer to steal files. |
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Jack Ryan is one of many major characters in the story |
Jack Ryan is the main character
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Jack breaks into Ritter's safe to find documents proving the existence of Operation RECIPROCITY |
Jack hacks into Ritter's computer and desperately tries to retrieve documents proving the existence of Operation RECIPROCITY before Ritter deletes them |
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Bob Ritter is portrayed as a ruthless rival to Jack who eventually partners with him to rescue the US soldiers in Colombia. |
Bob Ritter is portrayed as a heartless rival to Jack and is the main villain
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Felix Cortez does not kill Moira after having learned Director Jacobs will come to Colombia. After having found out that Cortez used her to get information about Director Jacobs, Moira attempts suicide through a sleeping pill overdose, but she survives. At the end of the book, Dan Murray takes her to Guantanamo Bay to see Cortez as a prisoner in hopes of putting the incident behind her. |
Felix Cortez kills Moira after having learned Director Jacobs will come to Colombia. |
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Jack is DC during the attempt on Emil Jacobs' life; he finds out about it through the TV. |
Jack is in the car with Emil Jacobs during the attempt on his life.
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Operation SHOWBOAT is ordered in retaliation for the killing aboard the yacht; Operation RECIPROCITY is ordered in retaliation for the killing of Emil Jacobs |
Operation RECIPROCITY is ordered in retaliation for the killing aboard the yacht; it is already in operation when Emil Jacobs is killed. |
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Bob Ritter is the Deputy Director of Operations and thus Ryan's equal in the CIA hierarchy |
Bob Ritter is the Deputy Director of the CIA and thus Ryan's superior in the CIA hierarchy
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Jim Greer's pancreatic cancer is revealed as having begun before the beginning of the story. For all of the story Jack is already acting as Deputy Director of Intelligence |
Jim Greer's pancreatic cancer is revealed partway through the movie. For only part of the film Jack acts as Deputy Director of Intelligence |
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Moira and Felix have their tryst in a lover's hotel in New York City |
Moira and Felix have their tryst in a rural cabin near DC
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The yacht owner's connection with the Cartel is established clearly through the confession of the two hijackers. It does not play a large role in the rest of the story, and the President does not send Jack to Colombia. |
The yacht owner's connection with the Cartel is unclear, prompting the President to send Jack to Colombia to uncover it, driving the rest of the story |
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Moira Wolfe does not know Cathy Ryan |
Moira Wolfeson is a friend of Cathy Ryan
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The Director of Central Intelligence, Arthur Moore, decides that Jack will be kept out of the loop because he wants to keep knowledge of the operation as tight as possible |
The Deputy Director of the CIA, Bob Ritter, decides that Jack will be kept out of the loop because he believes Jack is a "boy scout" and will object to the operation |
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Dan Murray is not killed in Colombia; he's not even in Colombia during the attack |
Dan Murray is killed in Colombia in the attack with Jack Ryan
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Escobedo orders the assault on FBI Director Jacobs in Bogota, despite Cortez's opposition |
Cortez orders the assault on FBI Director Jacobs in Bogota and makes it look like Escobedo did it. |
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Dan Murray succeeds Emil Jacobs as acting FBI Director |
Dan Murray is killed alongside Emil Jacobs in the attack
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Jack Ryan, upon becoming acting DDI, has a chauffeur drive him to work |
Jack Ryan, upon becoming acting DDI, still drives himself to work |
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Jack meets John Clark for the first time in the hospital just after Greer dies; the two are on friendly terms throughout the book. |
Jack meets John Clark for the first time in Colombia on friendly terms, but Clark threatens to kill Jack the second time they meet.
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Greer dies before finding out about Operation RECIPROCITY. He does not actively help Ryan uncover it but does offer advice. |
Greer, in the hospital bed, reads files relating to Operation RECIPROCITY given to him by Jack and expresses his disgust in the operation. |
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The US government uncovers Escobedo's cartel through confessions by Ramon and Jesus, two drug runners who hijacked the yacht and were arrested in the beginning of the book |
The US government uncover's Escobedo's cartel through Jack looking into the yacht owner's investments in certain "coffee" companies pointed out by John Clark
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Ritter and Moore realize the troops in Colombia need to be saved, and authorize Jack to do whatever is necessary to bring them home. Cutter remains defiant. |
Both Ritter and Cutter remain defiant and insist on abandoning the troops in Colombia. |
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Jack is not present at Greer's funeral; he is on his way to Colombia to rescue the soldiers. |
Jack is present at Greer's funeral.
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Jack never testifies before Congress. |
Jack testifies before Congress for funding for the covert operation and promises there will be no troops involved. |
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Jack finds out about Cutter's abandonment of the troops through John Clark. |
Jack finds out about Cutter's abandonment of the troops through radio frequencies picked up by the CIA.
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Jack finds out about Greer's death from John Clark outside Greer's hospital room. |
Jack finds out about Greer's death from a telephone call. |
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John Clark finds out about Cutter's betrayal through Jack and Ritter. John Clark threatens to kill Cutter. |
John Clark finds out about Cutter's betrayal through Ritter, who claims that Jack was the one to pull the plug on the operation. John Clark threatens to kill Jack, to which Cutter replies that once Jack is gone, the operation is back online.
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Jack goes to Colombia once: to save the abandoned troops. |
Jack goes to Colombia twice: to uncover the connection between the yacht owner and the Cartel, and another time to rescue the troops. |
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About 2/3 of the US troops in Colombia are killed; only one is taken prisoner and doesn't survive. The rescue operation is merely a pickup, and Jack doesn't leave the helicopter. Escobedo and Cortez are captured alive. |
All of the US troops in Colombia except for Ding Chavez are killed or captured. Jack, Clark, and Ding go on the ground to Escobedo's mansion to locate the prisoners. In the ensuing firefight, Escobedo and Cortez are both killed.
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Jack never meets with either Escobedo or Cortez, although he is on the same boat as them at the end of the book. |
Jack meets Escobedo in his mansion and fights Cortez in the coffee factory. |
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Jack tells the President that he will not lie to cover up the operation. Jack agrees to cover up the names of those who were merely acting under the President's orders. The President deliberately loses re-election to put the incident to rest. |
Jack tells the President he will not lie to cover up the operation. Furthermore, he testifies before Congress about the entire incident.
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Jack, Ritter, and Moore are all on cordial terms at the end of the book, although they all fear that they will lose their jobs thanks to the President-elect. Clark informs Cutter that Cutter is going to be arrested shortly. Unable to face that, Cutter commits suicide by throwing himself in front of traffic. |
Jack is still furious with Ritter and Cutter at the end of the book. There is no apparent punishment for any of them before Jack concludes the film by speaking to Congress. |
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Moira is portrayed sympathetically. The book informs the reader that she had lost her husband and had been lonely for a long time. The office secretly knows she has a relationship with Cortez (not knowing he's a spy for the Cartel) but they silently approve of it, feeling that she deserved to be happy again. Dan Murray tells Moira that Cortez was a professional liar and smarter people than she had been fooled by him. |
Moira is portrayed as a bit of a ditz. Her relationship with Cortez appears to be just physical. The office knows about her fling but it is implied that it is one of many.
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Cortez is captured before he has the chance to overtly betray Escobedo. |
Cortez's treachery is revealed by a tape recording Ryan plays for Escobedo. |
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Escobedo is returned to Colombia by US troops where he will likely be killed by rival cartel members who believe he was out to sabotage them. Cortez is arrested and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. |
Escobedo is shot by one of Cortez's men; Cortez is shot by Clark.
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As revealed in the Hunt for Red October, Jim Greer's first deployment was to the South Pacific the day after the Japanese surrender in WWII, thus preventing him from serving in combat in that war. |
The President notes during Jim Greer's funeral that he served "in the battlefields of the South Pacific." |
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The President is portrayed as bad at his job for having ordered the failed covert operation, but honorable enough to throw his re-election campaign in order to preserve the honor of those involved. |
The president is portrayed as a greedy and self-serving man who will do anything to stay in office.
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The movie takes place during the Cold War. |
The movie takes place after the Cold War. |
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John Clark is on the ground to guide the missile to the drug kingpin's compound. |
John Clark is in a hotel room supervising from a distance.
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This doesn't happen. |
The President tries to bribe Jack to cover up the operation by promising to owe him any favor he needs in the future. |
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When Jack breaks into Ritter's safe, he does it on his own late at night after most of his employees have gone home. Ritter never finds out that Ryan found the files. |
When Jack hacks Ritter's files, he does so during office hours with several of his employees beside him. Ritter realizes that Jack is printing his files, and the two confront each other.
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Felix Cortex does not like to use cellphones for anything as he feels they are unsecure |
Felix Cortex regularly uses cell phones for important calls |