Clear and Present Danger (Special Collector's Edition)

Clear and Present Danger (Special Collector's Edition) Review

When Adm. Greer (James Earl Jones) is hospitalized with aggressive pancreatic cancer and asks his old friend Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) to take over his slot at the CIA, he sums up the process of survival in Washington in four words: "Watch your back, Jack." The Admiral may not have realized how very true this would be. A lifelong friend of President Bennett's (Donald Moffat), with his wife and two children, has been murdered and his yacht hijacked by two enforcers working for a Colombian drug lord (Miguel Sandoval). Angry, Bennett allows two of his staff members (Henry Czerny, Harris Yulin), by way of an ex-spy named John Clark (William Dafoe), to initiate a clandestine military operation against the kingpin's facilities, which escalates into a mass murder when several of the Colombians hold a meet. What no one expected was that the trusted right-hand man (Joaquim de Almeida) of the original target has ambitions of his own. And when Jack discovers the truth, he finds his life and his career on the line.

This is the third Jack Ryan movie, and while perhaps not the best, it's still a real showcase for Ford, whose character displays all the integrity we associate with those played by classic actors like Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart (when the President warns him that blowing the whistle will only mean *he* will take the fall, he doesn't let it stop him from doing what he believes is right), plus his own tough, gritty courage, which sends him all the way to Colombia in search of the truth. There's also plenty of suspense and the usual great special effects, and families watching it should have a starting point for some good discussions about things like honesty and just how far it's possible to go in pursuit of one's goals.

Clear and Present Danger (Special Collector's Edition) Feature

• FORD/DAFOE/ARCHER/JONES

Clear and Present Danger (Special Collector's Edition) Overview

In CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, Harrison Ford returns as intrepid CIA agent Jack Ryan. When his mentor, Admiral Greer (Jones), becomes gravely ill, Ryan is appointed acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. His first assignment: investigate the murder of one of the President's friends, a prominent U.S. businessman with secret ties to Colombian drug cartels. Unbeknownst to Ryan, the CIA has already dispatched a deadly field operative (Dafoe) to lead a paramilitary force against the Colombian drug lords. Caught in the crossfire, Ryan takes matters into his own hands, risking his career and life for the only cause he still believes in -- the truth.

Clear and Present Danger (Special Collector's Edition) Specifications

The third installment in the cinematic incarnation of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan and the second starring Harrison Ford, this follow-up to Patriot Games is a more complex, rewarding, and bolder film than its predecessor. Ford returns as Ryan, this time embroiled in a failed White House bid to wipe out a Colombian drug cartel and cover up the mess. The script, by Clancy and John Milius (Red Dawn), has an air of true adventure about it as Ryan places himself in harm's way to extract covert soldiers abandoned in a Latin American jungle. There are a couple of remarkable set pieces expertly handled by Patriot Games director Phillip Noyce, especially a shocking scene involving an ambush on Ryan's car in an alley. The supporting cast is superb, including Willem Dafoe as the soldiers' leader, Henry Czerny as Ryan's enemy at the CIA, Joaquim de Almeida as a smooth-talking villain, Ann Magnuson as an unwitting confederate in international crime, and James Earl Jones as Ryan's dying boss. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, closed captioning, optional French soundtrack, and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

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