Review of Clear and Present Danger

Introduction

Poor ole Jack Ryan, it’s all kicking off again and he’s right in the middle of it once more. This time it’s the Columbians, well really it’s the Americans but the Columbians started it :P.

Jack’s called in by his terminally ill old friend James Greer to take his place as Deputy Head of the CIA. Unbeknown to Jack there is a secret army unit taking the fight to the Columbian drug cartels as a revenge attack by the President of the United States of America for the brutal slaying of one of his friends. Before he knows it he’s up to his neck in the middle of a government conspiracy with lives at stake.

Poor ole Jack’s lot goes from bad to worse with every film, this time he hasn’t just got some big bad villain to contend with but also assorted angry Columbians and his own government. Still, all in a day`s work really :P.

Video

One in the eye for owners of the region 1 release, this region 2 disc sports an excellent anamorphic widescreen transfer. From various reviews of the region 1 disc there were a few complaints about the picture quality but I could find no fault with this release whatsoever. At all times the picture remains sharp and clear regardless of the on screen conditions. Colours are also handled well and my complaint of washed out colours in Patriot Games is not evident here.

Audio

The Dolby Digital soundtrack on this disc is excellent throughout. There are several scenes that were made for a decent surround track and I’m glad to say that they work a treat. The best surround scenes tend to involve either helicopters, jungles or storms. Well this movie has the first 2 and the jungle sounds are particularly well done, constantly making me look about. Whilst the explosions will rock your room with a decent sub none of the sound is ever over done, scoring highly in the realism stakes. A car skidded outside my flat whilst I was watching the film and I wasn’t 100% certain as to whether it was in the movie or not.

The soundtrack, once again by James Horner, is much improved from Patriot Games. Although there are still undertones of his Aliens score it’s not intrusive and doesn’t distract you from the film.

Features

A trailer, thank you very much Paramount :/.

Conclusion

Clear and Present Danger is a great film, thoroughly enjoyable and easily the best of the trilogy in my opinion.

Over the past week I’ve watched all three of the Jack Ryan movies (Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger) and it’s been very interesting for 2 reasons.

Firstly the DVD quality has improved with each release to the point where Clear and Present Danger impresses as an all round excellent quality disc. The only disappointment continues to be the extra features, i.e. the almost total lack of them. I would love to see a special edition box set of all 3 of these movies packed to the gills with extras but also packaged with the original Tom Clancy novels. Having never read them this would appeal greatly to me but what are the chances?.

Secondly it’s interesting to see how the main characters have grown along the way, particularly Jack Ryan – masterfully portrayed by Harrison Ford of course. As the series has moved on Jack has moved from the totally naïve naval author of the first movie to the far stronger Deputy Head of the CIA in the third. Along the way though the character has stuck to his morals and has never compromised the truth in any way, an admirable role model for today might I say.

As the movies have progressed a background of minor roles has grown that really helps build a believable world in which they live. The story is a solid one of bad vs good and bad vs worse as America takes on the Columbian drug cartels whilst Jack Ryan takes on just about anyone he can find :). The character of Ryan is given fare more scope as well and it`s a pleasure to see Harrison Ford in numerous different situations.

Clear and Present Danger sees Willem Dafoe join the cast as John Clark, a one time US operative working out of Columbia. He’s never believable in the role unfortunately but his part is not a major one. Is it just me or is there something odd about the guy`s lower jaw? Representing the sleazy side of US politics is Robert Ritter (Henry Czerny) and James Cutter (Harris Yulin). This double act work excellently as you wish you could reach into the TV and throttle the pair of them.

So to sum up the DVD is first class, spoilt only by Paramount’s refusal to acknowledge that demand for extra features. The movie is great entertainment and I highly recommend it.