Clear & Present Danger

It’s hard to think of a more iconic actor than Harrison Ford. And it’s equally hard to think of a less interesting character than Jack Ryan, the protagonist of countless espionage thrillers. And yet, America loves Harrison Ford in this role. “How dare YOU, sir?” he barks angrily at the president, who is corrupt and venal. But he still calls him “sir”, because he respects the office. Yeah, that’s what this character is like.

The plot of ‘Clear & Present Danger’ is convoluted and not entirely plausible, but the movie is well-made. At any given moment, you know what Jack Ryan is up to, what clandestine information he’s working to uncover and who’s trying to blow him up.

Your efforts as a viewer here are aided by the movie’s relentless binary of good and evil. The bad guys are always bad, and can be counted on to do bad things, and the good guys are always good and noble-hearted. One wonders if there are actually this many high-ranking CIA officers who are quite so devoted to honestly following the rules.