Danger immédiat

The third outing for Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan - and the second with Harrison Ford in the lead - is a tightly constructed political thriller. Condensing Clancy's door stoppers is no easy task, but the makers here, headed by director Phillip Noyce, have manged to keep the pic brisk and intelligent for entertainment worth.

Plot essentially boils down to America's war on drugs and the Colombian cartel at the helm of such operations. Naturally all is a bit suspect in the American corridors of power, leading to corruption and abuse of power that puts Jack Ryan firmly at the front to sift and destroy the bad eggs staining the American Star Spangled Banner.

This very much plays out for those who like a bit of politico subterfuge, whist being ok with long passages of like minded chatter is also a requisite. That we have a fine cast playing out the screenplay (Donald E. Stewart, Steven Zaillian and John Milius) is a big plus that gives credibility to the shifty machinations.

There's a nagging annoyance throughout that this still should be a better film, especially given the overstretched run time of 2 hours 20 minutes, and the computer sections are dubious and the finale is something of a damp squib. However, we are in the company of great pros, both in front of and behind the camera - and also on the page (Clancy's brain superlative). With that in mind it's reasons to seek this out and enjoy if this splinter of political thriller is your bag. 7/10

The makers of this movie are to be congratulated for turning a Tom Clancy doorstop into a tense, tightly woven international thriller with a top notch cast and believeable plot. Where the previous two Jack Ryan movies depended on stunts and quite unbelieveable plot twists this film concentrates on a grubby little military/political incident (more the domain of intelligence men) and the men of honour and integrity (Ford and an under used Dafoe) trapped in the middle of it.

I also like this movie for its subtle dig at the American establishment and how it assumes it can coerce the weak into doing its bidding.

The Clark character in Clancy's fiction is an interesting one and deserves to be further developed. Casting Willem Dafoe in the part was actually a stroke of genius, and I could easily imagine his character in Platoon doing this kind of work if he had survived Vietnam. The fact that Dafoe is one of THE most underrated actors in Hollywood also means I like this.

There's not much to really be said about this film, it's a fun enough time with a pretty stellar cast comprising of the likes of Willem Dafoe, Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones, the story is interesting if somewhat complicated and all the technical aspects of the film are fine, this is the kind of film you'll watch, enjoy and then likely forget about but that's alright. For what it is this film is a fun romp, the one note I'll give is that the action in this film is pretty few and far between, not a deal breaker and there is still action it's just that if you're going in expecting loads of fighting and explosions you may be disappointed for the first half, still a decent film that can quite nicely take up an evening.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan has had an odd time at the movies. So far 3 actors and as many directors have had a go at him, with varying degrees of success. Hunt for Red October might come up in conversations more often, but it's hard to get past the silliness of Sean Connery pretending to be Russian (and speaking worse Russian than Baldwin's American character).

Clear and Present Danger is where your money belongs. One of Clancy's best Ryan efforts in print, this massive door-stop of a book was condensed by veteran scribes Steven Zallian and John Milius - how's that for a screen writing combo? - into a script that retains a lot of the original's moral complexity while making smart concessions to the blockbuster format. For a blockbuster is what you have before you, and one of the smartest ones out there, where art and commerce were combined in perfect harmony.

As Ryan 2.0, Harrison Ford is perfect in the lead, and it's hard to believe at times, that Clancy didn't have him in mind when creating the character. With a narrative this fragmented, it is essential that the supporting roles be pitch perfect and across the board everyone does first-rate work, with special mention to Willem Dafoe as John Clarke and Donald Moffat at a devious commander in chief.

Philip Noyce builds on his Ryan-debut Patriot Games and shows he is equally at ease with the quiet parts and the loud ones, particularly an RPG-powered car ambush centerpiece. The action beats are used sparingly but with brilliant precision.

All in all, this is smart, tight, believable and expertly executed. It is that rare brainy "action" film that will involve you and have you hanging on the edge of your seat.

Harrison Ford returns as "Jack Ryan," star of the very well-done "Patriot Games," the film adaption off the best-selling Tom Clancy novels. Also returning are Anne Archer and James Earl Jones.

THE BAD - This isn't as intense, especially in the first half hour, as Patriot Games and the ending was a little disappointing with a action-scene credibility problem. Once again - it's getting to be a tired Hollywood theme - top U.S. government officials, going all the way to the President, are corrupt people, liars not to be trusted.

THE GOOD - It's nice to see Willem Dafoe finally play a good guy. The villains in here are deceptively interesting, actors such as Joaquim De Almeida, Harris Yulin and Henry Czerny and Miguel Sandoval - not big names but recognizable and good actors. The violence is not overdone in here and when the action does occur, the sound is terrific. The best action scene was shootout in the streets with snipers firing at cars below.

The positives are far more than the negatives, making this a solid thriller.