Cutler: Patriot Games

In Patriot Games, family loyalty and legitimacy are two main themes. Throughout the film, there are many traditional and organizational families that add to plot. The traditional families include the Ryans, the Millers, the Royal Family, and the Jacksons. The organizational families are the IRA, the IRA splinter group, the CIA, and the Naval Academy. These nontraditional families are essential to the overall familial theme of Patriot Games because the people in these organizations treat each other like members of a family.
The two main traditional families, the Ryans and the Millers, create several plot points in the film. The inciting incident is when Jack Ryan stops a terrorist attack on the British Royal Family and kills Paddy Miller. Throughout the rest of the film, Sean Miller tries to get revenge for his brother's death. The first plot point is when Miller escapes from custody and plans his revenge and a next kidnapping attempt on Lord Holmes. The next plot point is when Miller and the IRA faction attacks Ryan's family. This leads Ryan to re-enter the CIA and plan revenge on Miller for almost killing his wife and daughter. The last plot point is when Miller and his group unsuccessfully attack Lord Holmes at Ryan's family home. Miller eventually chooses avenging the death of his brother over the plan to kidnap Lord Holmes which shows that he is more loyal to his blood family then his comrades in the IRA subgroup. He kills his comrades and pursues Ryan instead of trying to abduct Lord Holmes.
One thing that Jack Ryan and Sean Miller have in common is their need for revenge. The film focuses on Miller's revenge attempts against Ryan for killing his brother. Ryan then tries to get revenge against Miller because he almost killed his family. Their shared loyalty is part of the central theme of family.