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Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer, Joaquim de Almeida, Henry Czerny ... see more see more... , Harris Yulin , Donald Moffat , Miguel Sandoval , Benjamin Bratt , Raymond Cruz , Dean Jones , Thora Birch , Ann Magnuson , Hope Lange , Tom Tammi , Tim Grimm , Belita Moreno , James Earl Jones , Vaughn Armstrong , Mark Bailey , Patrick Bauchau , Patricia Belcher , Alejandro Bracho , Reg E. Cathey , Jared Chandler , Kevin Cooney , Vondie Curtis-Hall , Elizabeth Dennehy , Kim Flowers , Colleen Flynn , Ellen Geer , Greg Germann , Jaime Gómez , Clark Gregg , Blanca Guerra , Tom Isbell , Denice Kumagai , John La Fayette , Rex Linn , Kamala Lopez , Jorge Luke , Aaron Lustig , Robert M. Martinez , Christine Moore , John Rixey Moore , John Putch , Theodore Raimi , Guillermo Ríos , Diana Sowle , Lynne Marie Stewart , Cameron Thor , Harley Venton , Ken Howard , Cam Brainard , Honorato Magaloni , Chris Conrad , Miguel Pérez , Juan Carlos Colombo , Marjorie Lovett , Reed Diamond

This is the third film based on Tom Clancy's high-tech espionage potboilers starring CIA deputy director Jack Ryan. Harrison Ford, returning to the Ryan role after his first go-round in 1992's Patriot... read more read more... Games, is assigned to a delicate anti-drug investigation after a close friend of the President (a Reaganesque Donald Moffat) is murdered by a Colombian drug cartel. When Ryan discovers that the President's wealthy friend was in league with the cartel, the President's devious national security adviser (Harris Yulin) and an ambitious CIA deputy director (Henry Czerny) send a secret paramilitary force into Colombia to wipe out the drug lords. The force is captured and then abandoned by the President's lackeys. It falls to Ryan to enter Colombia and rescue them, aided only by a renegade operative named Clark (Willem Dafoe), with both his life and career on the line. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

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69% liked it

58,570 ratings

Critics

81% liked it

36 critics

PG-13, 2 hr. 21 min.

Directed by: Phillip Noyce

Release Date: August 3, 1994

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DVD Release Date: October 20, 1998

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Stats: 1,629 reviews

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Willem Dafoe in Clear and Present Danger. John Clark Willem Dafoe as John Clark in Clear and Present Danger. John Clark Clear and Present Danger Harrison Ford in CLear and Present Danger John Clark and Jack Ryan John Clark and Jack Ryan John Clark and Jack Ryan John Clark Willem Dafoe as John Clark in Clear and Present Danger.
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Flixster Reviews (1,629)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    April 9, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    When I was in my teens, I thoroughly enjoyed Tom Clancy. Clancy has always bgeen a master of Techno Thriller, aside from his last years before retiring. Clear and Present Danger is one incredible story about America's covert and Illegal war against Columbian drug Lords smuggling ... read moretheir product in the States. Clear and Present Danger is a top notch action Thriller with a terrific cast of actors. The film is a non stop action film that delivers awesome thrills. Harrison plays Jack Ryan yet again (he first played the role in Patriot Games, another terrific action film) CAPD is one well executed film thats just as exciting as reading Tom Clancy's work. Phillip Noyce who also directed Patriot Games and directed the Thriller Horror film Dead Calm returns to the director's chair, and cooks up another winner. Clear And Present Danger is an electrifying film that is never boring. Harrison Ford is the perfect actor to play Jack Ryan. As with Patriot Games, he delivers something terrific on screen. Though a good film, I thought that Clear And Present Danger was a step down from Noyce's previous Clancy adaptation, Patriot Games. Patriot Games is along with The Hunt For Red October the best adaptation of a Clancy work. But Clear And Present Danger is still good entertainment and has some solid acting, but I thought the subject matter in Patriot Games was a lot more Thrilling than in this film. Clear And Present Danger is a good, solid follow up with good action, thrills and acting. But to those who enjoyed Patriot Games better, like I did, then of course you'll find this a bit less electrifying as Patriot Games. Still this is a must see for Tom Clancy fans. A good, entertaining film nonetheless.
  • StarCrossedVoyager
    August 7, 2010
    StarCrossedVoyager
    This sounded really really good however I just found it confusing, way too fast moving and about a zillion characters. I haven't watched the first one however I believe sequels should be understandable whether you've seen the first one or not. I was just left confused and not ca... read morering for the characters.
  • allan913
    April 6, 2010
    allan913
    An explosive edge of your seat action-packed thriller. A smart, frequently exciting and electrifying film that loaded with heart-pounding action and riveting suspense. Harrison Ford and Willem Dafoe are at their best. Ford oce again brings this amazing role to furious life. Dafoe... read more is compelling and fantastic. The best Tom Clancy adaptation since The Hunt For Red October.
  • ythelastman89
    November 20, 2009
    ythelastman89
    I think this was even a step up from Patriot Games, increasing the narrative and scope. It has a great performance from Harrison Ford and Willem Dafoe was a perfect addition. For political thrillers, it is one of the best. It has a very entertaining, yet intelligent feel to it th... read moreat many action movies lack.
  • SirPant
    September 25, 2009
    SirPant
    Not a bad sequel, just as good as the first!
  • cosmo313
    July 10, 2009
    cosmo313
    Fairly decent, and pretty entertaining. Not without flaws though. I enjoyed both the political stuff and the action stuff, but things seem very muddled, and the script could have been polished up more. Also, every now and then thigns would drag and get just a bit boring. I think ... read morethey should have just kept this an R instead of appealing it to PG-13, but that's just me. All in all, a decent film.
  • DrZeek
    October 10, 2008
    DrZeek
    The President: So go down there, establish it.
    Jack Ryan: Go down where?
    The President: Colombia.
    Jack Ryan: Who, me?

    After watching the two previous Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan films, which had problems in maintaining my interest in watching them, this movie finally satisfied me in m... read moreany areas. Good cast, good story, and entertaining.

    Harrison Ford returns as Jack Ryan, working as an analyst until he is called in by his boss, once again played by James Earl Jones, to work on a case involving the Colombian drug cartel.

    While Ryan knows parts of what is going on, we know everything, a covert war is being waged against Colombian drug lords by some high ranking members of the CIA. These members have enlisted a secret black-ops agent, played by Willem Dafoe to head up a team working to take out various drug lords. An adviser of one of the drug lords, played by Joaquim de Almeida, is also heavily involved in the whole situation.

    Jack Ryan is meanwhile working to try an understand the whole situation, operating as deputy director of the CIA after his boss has taken ill. Ryan is working under the President, but has to face the hard truths of sticking to his ethics.

    What makes this a better movie than the previous Jack Ryan flick, Patriot Games, is its story. In Patriot Games, the film focused on one thing, revenge. Because of that, the story stretched out on plot for two hours and didn't really get anything out of it besides some confident action scenes. In this film, the story has numerous threads and characters to follow and it all works well. The film also has several well done action scenes, in particular, one involving an SUV shootout in an ally.

    The cast of this movie is very welcome as well. Ford seems much more in place this time around as the Jack Ryan character. Willem Dafoe is equally good as the sort of anti-Ryan character, both standing for the same thing, but would accomplish goals differently. The rest of the cast is composed of many character actors who give the film more gravity.

    There are occasional moments where action movie/tough guy dialog comes in, but it certainly makes things more enjoyable in terms of never keeping the film too serious.

    All around, a smartly made political thriller/action film.

    Jack Ryan: I didn't sign up for this. This is someone's bullshit political agenda. Who authorized this? Cutter?
    Ritter: Cutter couldn't tie his own shoes without permission.
    Jack Ryan: If I go down you're coming with me.
    Ritter: Wrong again. I have an *autographed get-out-of-jail-free card*!
  • Chiefilms
    March 2, 2008
    Chiefilms
    Ford in his classic formula. Saying a bunch of eastwood-esque lines to get the bad guy.
  • deano
    August 26, 2007
    deano
    Wow! Harrison Ford is perfect as intrepid CIA agent Jack Ryan in this thriller movie who risks his career and life for the only cause he still believes in - the truth.
  • thmtsang
    July 14, 2007
    thmtsang
    Excellent thriller.

View All Clear and Present Danger Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel
January 13, 2010
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

This is the third movie with Jack as its hero, so he is a known quantity -- a humanist spook with an overdeveloped moral sense -- but Ford, playing the part for the second time, knows how to keep his ... Full Review

Todd McCarthy
August 8, 2008
Todd McCarthy, Variety

Narrative complexity and momentum make this a true cinematic equivalent of an absorbing page-turner. Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

In a film that opens with the sight of a waving American flag, subtlety may not be foremost on anyone's mind. But Mr. Ford's wary intelligence does wonders for a potentially one-dimensional character. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

For what it is, Clear and Present Danger is fun to sit through. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The film seems to have its pulse on some peculiarly modern varieties of madness. Full Review

Lucy Mohl
January 1, 2000
Lucy Mohl, Film.com

[Noyce] dramatizes Tom Clancy's obsessively detailed plot in a straightforward fashion while staging spectacular showpieces of action.

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

An absorbing, if overlong adaptation of Tom Clancy's bestseller. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The uneven flow is as likely to lead to a snoozing viewer as to one on the edge of their seat. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
February 6, 2010
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

None of it is uplifting or tells us something fresh, but it passes as easy viewing entertainment. Full Review

January 13, 2010
TV Guide's Movie Guide

It's a formula film with a typically dubious political message, but the storytelling is livelier and more engaging than previous adaptations of Clancy's turgid techno-thrillers. Full Review

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Clear and Present Danger Trivia

  • Name the movie from this antonym. Foggy and Past Safe  Answer »
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