Clear and Present Danger

Despite the stellar cast of Ford and Dafoe, it's a heavily overwrought borefest that takes a lot of work to finish. Even the combat scenes from Colombia are not so well filmed as to bring a bit of the necessary adrenaline rush to snap the viewer out of their lethargy. (07/21/2002)

He played one president, and he’s happy to scold another. That is Harrison Ford. He’s a scout with a calm family, he is a star at work (he even visits his terminally ill boss), he’s a patriot like a crystal, and when ugly people undermine America's foreign interests in Colombia and endanger American citizens (armed with submachine guns and grenades!) our Harrison grabs his gun and goes and deals with them on his own. Clear and Present Danger is typical Clancy, teeming with instructions for good patriotism and pathos par excellence. At the same time, it is full of interesting realities and shoots into its own ranks a bit, because not everyone who salutes under the American flag is necessarily good. If you take away the patriotic bluntness and propaganda melodrama, it's an absolutely standard thriller with a disinterested Ford and a charismatic Defoe. Director Noyce hardly does anything captivating, the action sequences are barren, the conversations wooden and the overall concept is just conservative. Despite this, or maybe because of it, you can have a lot of fun with it. You just need a little perspective and the scout Ford is suddenly a good clown... (03/14/2006)

Harrison Ford has an advantage over the vast majority of action performers in that he is a quality character actor. Director Phillip Noyce may never collect laurels at film festivals, but he is a decent craftsman who is occasionally capable of creating a great scene, such as the attack on an American convoy in the middle of a Latin American metropolis. The screenwriter appropriately tamed his imagination, so the story has a beginning and an end without convoluted structures. In the end, it is an average action film with a typically invincible protagonist. The genre's peaks are elsewhere, but Clear and Present Danger is a risk-free choice for a single viewing. Overall impression: 55%. (10/21/2013)

Clancy, but this time it’s about drugs. It's not as sharp as Patriot Games, but it's still good. The part where Ryan screws the president is awesome. (09/23/2018)

The best Ford-Ryan outing with absolutely perfect scenes, among which stands out especially (yes, yes) the convoy ambush. Willem Dafoe as Clark is flawless as well. The screenwriters have cut Clancy's story down considerably (especially the opening passage on the ship is a pity), but whatever. Five! (01/03/2008)