Clear and Present Danger (1994)

CIA Analyst Jack Ryan is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel.

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers:

Tom Clancy (novel), Donald E. Stewart (screenplay) (as Donald Stewart)

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Jack Ryan
Willem Dafoe	...	Clark
Anne Archer	...	Cathy Ryan
Joaquim de Almeida	...	Felix Cortez
Henry Czerny	...	Robert Ritter
Harris Yulin	...	James Cutter
Donald Moffat	...	President Bennett
Miguel Sandoval	...	Ernesto Escobedo
Benjamin Bratt	...	Captain Ramirez
Raymond Cruz	...	Chavez
Dean Jones	...	Judge Moore
Thora Birch	...	Sally Ryan
Ann Magnuson	...	Moira Wolfson
Hope Lange	...	Senator Mayo
Tom Tammi	...	Emile Jacobs

Storyline

Jack Ryan is back and this time the bad guys are in his own government. When Admiral James Greer becomes sick with cancer, Ryan is appointed acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. Almost before he can draw a breath in his new position, one of the president's closest friends and his family are murdered in their sleep by what appears to by drug cartels. Ryan is called in to investigate, but unknown to him the CIA has already sent a secret field operative to lead an illegal paramilitary force in Colombia against cartels. Things get even more complicated when his team is set up and he loses an agent in the field and a friend of his wife's, who was the murdered agent's secretary, is murdered that same day. Ryan must then risk not only his career, but his life to expose the truth behind the mystery.

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Plot Keywords:

jack ryan character | good versus evil | cia | drugs | colombia | 

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Taglines:

The war of drugs would lead him to the war of power.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense action/violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Peligro inminente

Filming Locations:

Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,348,017, 7 August 1994, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$122,187,717

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$215,887,717

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mace Neufeld Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harrison Ford (Jack Ryan) and Donald Moffat (President Bennett) previously co-starred in Regarding Henry (1991).

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Goofs

In the scene where Jack has access to Ritter's computer, Jack is seen viewing and printing files. Then Ritter discovers Jack's diversionary phone call, so Ritter begins to delete the same files from the disk, and eventually clears the screen of the file Jack was accessing. Disk operating systems of all kinds do not allow an open file, the file jack was printing, to be deleted; thus, Jack should have been able to keep the file open as long as he wanted to and print or copy to another disk to use as evidence against Ritter. Furthermore, Ritter would have received an error message on his computer like, "CANNOT DELETE FILE - FILE IN USE", or some similar message, and not a "Deleting files *.*" message for the duration. The fact that the printer Jack was using ran out of paper is irrelevant.

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Quotes

[Chavez was able to close in on the Sergeant Major by using a cheeseburger wrapper as a decoy]
Sergeant Major: Soldier, how did you get so close to me?
Chavez: Sniper approached the instructor by being a sneaky bastard, Sergeant Major!

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Salt/Ramona and Beezus/Summer Doc Round-Up (2010)

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Soundtracks

Pa Mi Collection
Written and Performed by Vico C. (as Vico-C)
Courtesy of Prime Records

User Reviews

One of my all time favorite movies

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