Movies - Clear and Present Danger

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	Movies - Clear and Present Danger

Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on the book by the same name by Tom Clancy.

In the novel, Jack Ryan is thrown into the position of CIA Acting Deputy Director and discovers that he is being kept in the dark by his colleagues who are conducting a covert war against drug lords in Colombia.

Plot

The movie opens with the Coast Guard stopping a suspicious boat, finding that the owner of the boat and his family had been murdered by the men caught on the boat. The murdered man happens to have been a close friend of President Bennett. President Bennett finds out that the man was murdered because of his ties to Colombian drug cartels, having skimmed over $600 million from the cartels for his own use. In his anger, the President tells James Cutter, the National Security Advisor, that the Colombian drug cartels represent "a clear and present danger" to the U.S., thus giving Cutter unofficial permission to take down the men responsible for his friend's death.

Jack, meanwhile, is appointed Deputy Director of Intelligence when his friend Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones) comes down with an aggressive case of cancer, which eventually turns fatal. Needing to keep Ryan out of the loop, Cutter turns to CIA Deputy Director Robert Ritter, who manages to get a document giving him permission to do what he sees fit to take down the cartel. Ritter then assembles a black-ops team with the help of John Clark (Willem Dafoe), a secret field operative. John and his team travel to Colombia and begin destroying the various cartels and their equipment.

The head of one of the cartels, Ernesto Escobeda, is enraged at having lost over $600 million as a result of the freezing of assets, and has his main henchman Felix Cortez (Joaquim de Almeida) take care of the problem. Felix happens to have an inside person - Moira Wolfson, a secretary to one of the cabinet who advises the President. Felix uses Moira, who doesn't know of his true nature, to eventually try and work both sides of the game - he gives information to Cutter, hoping to have Ernesto killed in a black-ops operation, so he can take over the cartels himself. Unaware of all this, Ryan finds himself caught in the middle when Felix has his men take care of the President's cabinet while visiting in Colombia, while he himself kills Moira. The assassination attempt misses Ernesto, but does manage to kill the other cartel members - as well as their families, which proves to be bad television for anyone associated with the operation.

When the assasination attempt on Ernesto goes wrong and with Ryan able to barely escape being killed, the decision is made by Ritter to pull the plug on all operations. This results in the black-ops team being stranded behind enemy lines without any backup, and with Ryan left trying to figure out what's been going on. Ryan eventually pieces together the various elements, and realizing that American soldiers are still stranded in Colombia, goes there himself to try and rescue them. With the help of John - who initially believes Ryan to be personally responsible for calling off all support (Ritter having used Ryan as a convenient scapegoat), but who eventually believes Jack's sincerity - Jack makes his way to Ernesto's hideout and helps release the men still held hostage. With an audio tape of Felix talking to Cutter about doing in Ernesto, Ryan is able to get Ernesto to help him take down Felix as well.

Back home, Ryan angrily confronts the President, who was indirectly responsible for all the carnage. The President smugly tries to convince Ryan that he now holds a 'chip' in the 'game' - by being in the loop of what happened, Ryan can use the President for special favors, in return for keeping his mouth shut. Ryan, however, angrily tells the President that he intends to blow the whistle at a special session of Congress, despite the ruin it could do to his career. He then walks out of the Oval Office, and the movie ends with Ryan about to testify about everything that happened.

Cast

Harrison Ford
Jack Ryan
Willem Dafoe
John Clark
Anne Archer
Dr. Cathy Ryan
Joaquim de Almeida
Col. Félix Cortez
Henry Czerny
Robert Ritter
Harris Yulin
James Cutter
Donald Moffat President Bennett
Miguel Sandoval
Ernesto Escobedo
Benjamin Bratt
Captain Ramirez
Raymond Cruz Domingo Chavez
James Earl Jones
Admiral James Greer

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