Clear and Present Danger


"You took an oath, if you recall, when you first came to work for me. And I don't mean to the National Security Advisor of the United States, I mean to his boss... and I don't mean the President. You gave your word to HIS boss: you gave your word to the people of the United States. Your word is who you are."    - Admiral Greer


release year: 1994
genre: action
viewing setting: home Bluray 2/28/18 and 3/5/14

synopsis: High-level government officials stage a secret military operation in Columbia, and then abandon it, leaving the soldiers to die...which doesn't sit well with good guy Jack Ryan.

impressions: Another successful film adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel, and it really makes me wish they'd tried harder to make one continuous franchise rather than (now two) recent "re-imaginings." To me, a "re-imagining" is just evidence that the studio screwed up and wants to reboot something, when what they really should have done is not screw up in the first place. But I digress. This movie has a great mix of action, intrigue, and drama - this is something that could probably happen, and really makes you wonder what some high-level government employees are up to.

acting: Harrison Ford is Jack Ryan, who will always do what's right despite the risk and implications. Willem Dafoe is the leader of the secret operation, and Raymond Cruz is its top sniper. Joaquim de Almeida is the spy who works for a drug lord, but has his own agenda. Miguel Sandoval is that lord. Henry Czerny and Harris Yulin are shifty government guys. Donald Moffat is the President, who made some decisions under stress. James Earl Jones is Ryan's friend and mentor, who's dying of cancer.

final word: Great action/drama, well worth seeing.

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