Review of Clear and Present Danger (1994) by Ben L — 18 Feb 2016

I have always enjoyed the Jack Ryan films, and I think this is the better of the 2 that star Harrison Ford. I love the way we have 2 intersecting stories going on, and it takes time for Jack to realize everything that is going on behind his back. It makes for some interesting debate because we see the effectiveness of the war on the drug cartels, but we also recognize what it will mean for our protagonist if the truth is revealed. All the intertwining motives and plots worked well, and I always followed what was happening even though they didn't spend large chunks of the film explaining it to the audience. Henry Czerny is brilliantly cast as the weasel who is basically the anti-Jack Ryan. I love their limited interactions and how you can see they mix about as well as oil and water. I also think any movie with James Earl Jones gets just a little better simply because he's there. Perhaps my favorite member of the cast, though, is Willem Dafoe. I really enjoy him as the good guy for a change, and his devotion to his team feels so genuine. Naturally, Harrison Ford is also brilliant, and I always like seeing him this passionate about a role (something he seems to have lost in recent years.).

My favorite scenes in Clear and Present Danger are when Jack and his team are working to piece together clues about who is involved and what is going on. Those scenes feel like they are out of a mystery/thriller movie, which is a genre that I love. Also the action sequences are intense and exciting, particularly the ambush in a remote Colombian alley. I do have issues with some of the pacing in the film. There are moments where we know certain things and they spend a little too long dwelling on that aspect so it can be revealed to more characters. I also wish the film could have continued and shown us how the trials unfolded, and whether the actual crooks got their comeuppance. But I can overlook these relatively minor glitches in an otherwise solid film. If you haven't seen any of the Jack Ryan films, this is a fine one that I can highly recommend.