Clear and Present Danger starts out fairly well as an intelligence mystery, but it becomes less interesting as it goes along and finally winds up like some low-budget television action movie that you might see on late-night cable. Ford is okay, but there's really not a lot to work with in the character of Jack Ryan. He's not complex enough to be interesting or believable as an intelligence agent, and he's not cartoonish enough to be fun like James Bond. He could use a sense of humor, that's for sure. His earnest, goody-two-shoes act gets old by the end of the film. The story concerns the murky world of politics, intelligence agencies, and the connections between governments, businesses and drug cartels, but instead of developing characters as complex as the situation, the director/writer deliver up cliched good guys and bad guys. Very disappointing that way.
At least it's better than Patriot Games, where the writing was even worse. But it's not as good as The Hunt for Red October. If you want a simplistic action film, this will probably fit the bill, though it may seem slow at times, especially in the first half. If you want a good movie about intelligence agencies, you're better of with Three Days of the Condor or Spy Game.
At least it's better than Patriot Games, where the writing was even worse. But it's not as good as The Hunt for Red October. If you want a simplistic action film, this will probably fit the bill, though it may seem slow at times, especially in the first half. If you want a good movie about intelligence agencies, you're better of with Three Days of the Condor or Spy Game.