Clear and Present Danger

1994

Clear and Present Danger

Critics Consensus

Perfecting the formula established in earlier installments, Clear and Present Danger reunites its predecessor's creative core to solidly entertaining effect.

79%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 42

74%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 61,704
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Movie Info

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 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

Cast

Harrison Ford
as Jack Ryan
Willem Dafoe
as Clark
Anne Archer
as Cathy Ryan
Joaquim de Almeida
as Felix Cortez
Henry Czerny
as Robert Ritter
Harris Yulin
as James Cutter
Donald Moffat
as President Bennett
Miguel Sandoval
as Ernesto Escobedo
Benjamin Bratt
as Captain Ramirez
Raymond Cruz
as Chavez
Dean Jones
as Judge Moore
Ann Magnuson
as Moira Wolfson
Hope Lange
as Senator Mayo
James Earl Jones
as Admiral Greer
Thora Birch
as Sally Ryan
Tom Tammi
as FBI Director Jacobs
Tim Grimm
as FBI Agent Murray
Belita Moreno
as DEA Agent Fowler
Jaime Gómez
as Sergeant Oso
Alexander Lester
as Ian Ryan
Jared Chandler
as Radio Man
Jorge Luke
as Sipo
Victor Palmieri
as Ambassador Ferris
Greg Germann
as Petey
Ellen Geer
as Rose
Ted Raimi
as Satellite Analyst
Vondie Curtis-Hall
as Voice-Print Analyst
John Lafayette
as CIA Analyst
Rex Linn
as Washington Detective
Ken Howard
as Committee Chairman
Reg E. Cathey
as Sergeant Major
Clark Gregg
as Staff Sergeant
Chris Conrad
as Sniper Sergeant
Vaughn Armstrong
as Blackhawk Pilot
John Putch
as Blackhawk Co-Pilot
Colleen Flynn
as Coast Guard Captain
Cam Brainard
as Coast Guardman
Cameron Thor
as DEA Surveillance Agent
Harley Venton
as DEA Agent
Miguel Pérez
as DEA Agent
Patrick Bauchau
as Enrique Rojas
Juan Carlos Colombo
as Cortez's Bodyguard
Blanca Guerra
as Escobedo's Wife
Honorato Magaloni
as Mining Company Manager
Robert M. Martinez
as Chemist
Alejandro Bracho
as Fernandez
Diana Sowle
as Cartel Maid
Kamala Lopez
as Venezuelan Telephonist
Guillermo Ríos
as Gate House Guard
Mark Bailey
as Reporter
Elizabeth Dennehy
as Reporter
Patricia Belcher
as INS Officer
Aaron Lustig
as Dr. Polk
Tom Isbell
as Restaurant Doctor
Kim Flowers
as Restaurant Hostess
Lynne Marie Stewart
as Greer's Secretary
Denice Kumagai
as Nurse
Christine Moore
as Greer's Widow
Marjorie Lovett
as President's Secretary
Kevin Cooney
as CIA Counsel
John Rixey Moore
as Spock
Reed Diamond
as Coast Guard Chief
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Critic Reviews for Clear and Present Danger

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (9)

  • 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 earnestness fresh.

    January 13, 2010 | Full Review…

    Richard Schickel

    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic

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

    August 8, 2008

    Todd McCarthy

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • There's a glimmer of interest in the film's ideological contortions, but as a commercial action thriller this is inflated and sluggish.

    February 9, 2006 | Full Review…

    Trevor Johnston

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    May 20, 2003 | Rating: 3/4

    Janet Maslin

    New York Times
    Top Critic

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

    January 1, 2000

    Lucy Mohl

    Film.com
    Top Critic

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

    January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Mick LaSalle

    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (42)

Audience Reviews for Clear and Present Danger

  • Mar 14, 2015
    Not great, but at least it's got enough thrilling moments (The attack on the motorcade, the missile launch, etc.) to make the long running time worth it.
    Alec B Super Reviewer
  • Dec 05, 2013
    A film that doesn't need the epic length provided to it. Call is Clear and Present Boredom. Dated and dull.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • Feb 15, 2013
    A smart and compelling dramatic thriller, Clear and Present Danger delivers an exciting adventure based on a bestselling Tom Clancy novel. When Jack Ryan is appointed Deputy Director of the CIA, he's unwittingly used by the President to launch a covert military operation against the Colombian drug cartels. Harrison Ford reprises his role as Ryan, and is joined by Willem Dafoe and Benjamin Bratt. Especially well-written, the films does a good job at developing the story and at drawing the audience into the film. The directing is also quite effective; keeping the film intense and dramatic. Clear and Present Danger is an impressive and entertaining action film that's well-crafted.
    Dann M Super Reviewer
  • Sep 11, 2011
    Pretty good movie. A bit too long but the latter part of the film is full of action so it's okay.
    Sam E Super Reviewer
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