Clear and Present Danger (1994)

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 Amazon.com

DECENT PRINT

I kept reading that the picture quality for this movie was sorry. I was blown away by how good it looked on my new Sony 350 player. Some shots had a little grain but for the most part I thought it looked great. The movie was pretty damned entertaining too! August 10, 2008

Visually Disappointing But Audibly Exciting on Blu ray

In typical studio fashion, Paramount has transfered this exact same master that was temporarily released on HD DVD early this year which was a mixed bag and not what these films, the fans of the films, or high def owners deserve.

I really enjoy the first 3 Jack Ryan films, the 4th not so much because of Ben Affleck and because it's just too out of sync with the previous trilogy. The first 3 are classic political thrillers that do a great job of bringing Tom Clancy's books to the big screen. His vision and Jack Ryan character are for the most part, executed very well on these films. Many have their preferences as the stronger and better of the bunch but I like Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger individually for their own qualities and suspenseful action.

I've seen all of the Jack Ryan's on HD DVD, and sure enough, the Blu Ray's are exactly the same. Which is too bad because Paramount didn't do a very good job remastering them and they just don't look nearly as good as they should in hi def. I suspect that many Blu Ray owners will be pretty disappointed with the lack of visual pop that they're hoping for. Each of the Jack Ryan's looks better than the one before it which is typical as newer films upgrade easier to high def. And at least they all look better than their standard def counterparts. The problem is, is that most hi def owners have seen older films than these look better than these. Which brings us to wonder, what went wrong here? Granted, these films are a difficult upgrade as most of the scenes take place inside a submarine, house, office, or outside on overcast days, making it more difficult to provide that 3D pop we're looking for. But there are specks and dirt in the transfers and while I didn't find them in abundance or distracting, I do feel it's inexcusable at this point in the Hi Def's life cycle, especially for these movies. There's no reason for them not to be squeaky clean by now, even if they're going to look a little flat. But they are the best transfers available and the best we'll see until they provide us a proper remastering. But one is due.

The audio, well this is finally where these discs pop. And I mean POP!!! We're given some truly thunderous transfers here in Dolby TrueHD. These films sounded good to begin with on standard dvd (especially October) but these new transfers are just incredible. They easily trounce the old ones. The scores, sound effects, gun shots and explosions are absolutely thrilling. This is all moot if you don't have a proper surround system to decode and dish out the TrueHD tracks though. If thats the case, then you may want to consider keeping your standard discs if you have them because the audio is the clear selling point for the upgrade.

Despite my dissatisfaction with the flimsy visual upgrades, I'm still satisfied with these discs. I'd recommend them for any Blu Ray (and home theater) owner looking for a worthy upgrade for their favorite Tom Clancy films. Again, I stress you'll be much more impressed by the HD audio here rather than the passable but not demo worthy HD video. I give this set a 4 out of five because even though difficult, I believe if they really wanted to, Paramount could've and should've given these films a better makeover than they got. The powerful audio will help ease the disappointment with the video. Overall, I still recommend them.
August 3, 2008

Clear and Present Danger

Let me start off by saying simply: Clear and Present Danger is a really engrossing film. Starring Harrison Ford as CIA agent Jack Ryan and featuring well-known actors such as James Earl Jones and Willem Dafoe, CaPD is basically about a secret and illegal military campaign against the Cali cartel in Colombia, and the political strife that surrounds it.

The film opens with a Coast Guard vessel boarding a yacht in the Gulf of Mexico, which they've discovered to have been commandeered by Panamanian drug runners and its original crew of Americans murdered. As it turns out, one of the victims on the boat was a good, no, a LIFELONG friend of the President of the US. CIA agent Ryan (Ford) comes up with a theory that the vessel was the target of retribution by Ernesto Escobedo, a Colombian drug kingpin. It seems the president's friend had been laundering money in partnership with the drug cartel, and when the money stopped rolling in, the cartel got pissed, to put it blunty. So, CIA chief Ritter (Henry Czerny) obtains secret authorization to insert a team of Special Forces to take revenge on the cartel. The team is lead by Clark (Dafoe), who promptly get down to Colombia and start kicking cartel butt. However, after Ryan discovers the disturbing truth regarding the whole issue, the troops are left stranded, and Ryan is in danger of losing his entire career. Fortunately, with some incriminating evidence and help from Clark, he is able to rescue the American commandos, take down the leadership of the cartel and a Cuban intelligence agent who helped create the whole mess, and ends up keeping his honor and integrity by testifying to the Senate about the President's and CIA's illegal actions.

The film is well-acted and features believable characters, not to mention a complex and intriguing plot and great action scenes and effects. Definitely worth the watch, even if you're not a fan of Clancy. Having seen the film but not read the book, it's definitely on my library list now. Two thumbs up. June 18, 2008

The world needs more heroes

Whether or not you're a fan of Tom Clancy novels, the plots can sure make for some great entertainment. While some of the Jack Ryan stories have had very mixed results as movies (I really did not like Alex Baldwin or Ben Affleck as the protagonist), Harrison Ford has been uniformly awesome in the role. It's just someone he was born to play if you ask me. In fact, I wish he was in every film in the series (that would have been fantastic). At any rate, Harrison Ford is fantastic in this movie, and he's surrounded by a great cast, in what has got to be my absolutely favorite modern political film (wouldn't quite call it a thriller).

The story (as I have been told, because I've never read a Clancy novel) was greatly truncated from the book, yet still manages to tell a great story. And the story is simple. The President of the United States faces a possible scandal involving someone he knew turning up dead after crossing some dirty business partners, and as this person was a friend of his, decides to carry out his own little secret war against the drug cartel in Columbia since they've become such a thorn in his side. Harrison Ford as Ryan is a honest and straight-shooting yet lovable guy who finds himself advising the President and investigating the cartels.

The whole story is really shown from four different perspectives. The hero protagonist is of course Ryan, and we follow him as he carries out his investigation. There is also the other government agents who are involved in the secret war and advise the president and conspire against Ryan.Then we have one of the drug lords who finds himself being attacked by the US government, and largely just gets angry and tries to figure out why everyone seems to be getting more and more ticked at him. Lastly we have the mysterious invisible man who manipulates everyone behind the scenes and spies on everyone, the REAL villain of the story in many ways.

The drama is fantastic as several stories unfold at once, Ryan's boss (played by James Earl Jones) slowly dies of cancer, a mercenary (Willem Dafoe) commands the secret operations team including one particularly sharp shooter, and Ryan gets closer and closer to finding out the truth about everything.

If action is your thing this movie has enough of that, with one sequence in particular being a standout. The invisible man sends assassins to take out Ryan and the people with him, and it's a supremely thrilling few minutes while rocket launchers take one one vehicle after another and Ryan tries to escape with his life and protect his friend. If you have a good sound system that sequence is a showcase. A very nice sound mix throughout this film, and the musical score by James Horner is also beautiful. The visuals are quite good also and the entire movie is very well shot, much like The Fugitive (none of that shaky hand-held garbage here!)

The dialog in this movie is great, and the end of the film has a very satisfying climax as Ryan finds out the truth, faces down the beaurocrats who lied to him, and leads a mission to save the troops who have been abandoned by the leaders of the country.

This film can be taken different ways, but to me it is a bold statement about integrity and nobility. In the entire movie Ryan never uses a gun even once, and he's the hero. His crusade is all about doing the right thing and believing in that, even when he discovers that he's the own one left who clings to such ideals. I'm not sure many actors could pull off such a performance and have such conviction, but Ford does a wonderful job portraying Ryan as the last good man in a country gone corrupt. It's really great stuff, and when you combine it with all the political intrigue and detective work of figuring out who is who and what is what in the investigation Ryan conducts, and the action between the troops and the Cartels, this is one great piece of entertainment with a strong message about doing what you know is right and honoring those who make sacrifices to do the same. Very highly recommended. March 17, 2008

Harrison Ford in a Cool Story Arc

I've read and liked a few Tom Clancy books and was glad to see Harrison Ford appear in this one. I must admit to liking his Star Wars and Indiana Jones-type characters. As Jack Ryan, he comes across as willing to stick to his own moral character, even at getting into the face of the president of USA himself! Action scenes are great, especially the helicoptor scenes. I'll never understand though how the bad guys can shoot at a stationary target and miss every single time. Amazing. Dafoe makes a good mercenary though I can't get the 'green goblin' character out of my mind. I almost expect him to throw a pumpkin bomb, but I digress ....

Good film of American politics justifying unethical behavior, caring for their own skin alone, and a man willing to stand up to them. Thanks Harrison.

The DVD has a few extras such as in-person interviews and comments by the cast and crew. March 3, 2008

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