Danger immédiat

I don't know of anybody who doesn't like this movie, Clear and Present Danger. There was a funny cartoon I once read called Clear and Present Dangerfield which showed Rodney Dangerfield saying "I get no respect from these terrorists!" Very funny. The movie has some cheesy moments and some patriotic moments John Wayne would be proud of. The book and movie are different but the book, like most of Tom Clancy's books are so long that it's not possible to make it into an alike movie. So therefore the movie is focused on the parts with Jack Ryan and the other characters are hardly in it. Henry Czerny comes across as the top supporting actor in it and earned some roles from his solid underrated performance. Donald Moffat plays a two-faced president better than any actor who would have otherwise played him as a straight up mean dictator. Like in the book, the President has no name, he simply goes by the name the President of the United States of America. Philip Noyce does his job well at directing this picture. And of course this is one of Harrison Ford's last great roles since he did a Tom Hanks and has been desperate for an Oscar ever since. Overall, it's a great movie for anyone to enjoy.

Harrison Ford returns as "Jack Ryan," star of the very well-done "Patriot Games," the film adaption off the best-selling Tom Clancy novels. Also returning are Anne Archer and James Earl Jones.

THE BAD - This isn't as intense, especially in the first half hour, as Patriot Games and the ending was a little disappointing with a action-scene credibility problem. Once again - it's getting to be a tired Hollywood theme - top U.S. government officials, going all the way to the President, are corrupt people, liars not to be trusted.

THE GOOD - It's nice to see Willem Dafoe finally play a good guy. The villains in here are deceptively interesting, actors such as Joaquim De Almeida, Harris Yulin and Henry Czerny and Miguel Sandoval - not big names but recognizable and good actors. The violence is not overdone in here and when the action does occur, the sound is terrific. The best action scene was shootout in the streets with snipers firing at cars below.

The positives are far more than the negatives, making this a solid thriller.

A CIA anaylst, Jack Ryan(Harrison Ford), is promoted to Deputy Director of Intelligence of the CIA after Admiral James Greer(James Earl Jones) suffers from illness. A close friend of the president(Donald Moffat) is murdered. The situation gets worse when the President is convinced to take actions against the drug cartels. Felix Cortez plays both sides. He tries to "inform" the CIA and he also works with the cartels. James Cutter(Harris Yulin) an advisor to the President, makes a deal with Cortez, and cuts off communications to troops in Columbia, through the Deputy Director of CIA Operations, Robert Ritter(Henry Czerny). Ryan goes to Colombia to save the troops with the help of John Clark(Willem Dafoe), but not before Ritter blames Ryan for Clark's men being captured by Cortez's mercenaries.

Clear and Present Danger is a great action/political thriller that is one of my all time favorite movies. Ford gives a great performance, perhaps his best. Theres also a great supporting cast including Willem Dafoe, Henry Czerny, and James Earl Jones. Besides powerful drama, Clear and Present Danger supplies good action sequences. I haven't read the book, but I plan to after seeing this movie.

Although the plot is a bit complex, this is a great movie and a must see. If you like Ford, action, or great drama, then Clear and Present Danger is a movie you should see. This film recieves my highest recommendation. 10/10

The makers of this movie are to be congratulated for turning a Tom Clancy doorstop into a tense, tightly woven international thriller with a top notch cast and believeable plot. Where the previous two Jack Ryan movies depended on stunts and quite unbelieveable plot twists this film concentrates on a grubby little military/political incident (more the domain of intelligence men) and the men of honour and integrity (Ford and an under used Dafoe) trapped in the middle of it.

I also like this movie for its subtle dig at the American establishment and how it assumes it can coerce the weak into doing its bidding.

The Clark character in Clancy's fiction is an interesting one and deserves to be further developed. Casting Willem Dafoe in the part was actually a stroke of genius, and I could easily imagine his character in Platoon doing this kind of work if he had survived Vietnam. The fact that Dafoe is one of THE most underrated actors in Hollywood also means I like this.

Third installment of the Agent Jack Ryan with lots of gun-rattling action, suspense and intrigue. Ryan is a high officer from CIA ,married(Anne Archer) and with sons(Thora Birch).After death a closed friend by Colombian drugs Cali cartel(Miguel Sandoval,Joaquin De Almeida) , the President(Donald Moffat) himself sanctions a covert operation against the drug barons by sending crack soldiers into the Colombia country under the command of mercenaries(Willem Dafoe,Benjamin Bratt, Raymond Cruz). Harrison Ford's Jack Ryan contracted into White House's staff(Harris Yulin, Henry Czerny,Dean Jones) investigates the events. Ryan thinks he's still after Colombian connections to the dead man's money.

This blockbuster is an excellent adaptation of the novel by Tom Clancy , companion to ¨The hunt for Red October¨ with Ford taking over the role of Ryan from Alec Baldwin and second part ¨Patriot games¨ again with Harrison Ford , who's becoming the king of trilogies . Extraordinaries nail-biting action scenes, specially when Ryan and his partners are trapped by machine-gunners in a network of narrows streets and posteriorly parodied by Leslie Nielsen. Interesting screenplay plenty of twists and thrills by John Milius and Steve Zaillian. Spectacular musical score fitting to action and suspense by James Horner. Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Donald McAlpine. The picture is well directed by Phillip Noyce, an action movies expert, but he directed ¨Blind fury, The Saint, The Bone Collectors and Patriot games¨ among others. Rating: Above average, the film will like to Harrison Ford fans and Jack Ryan novels followers.