A more cerebral Ryan
This is a completely different film to its predecessor, Patriot Games - not necessarily better or worse, but its tone and direction are much more different, and its use of Ryan certainly is. We see far more of James Earl Jones' character Greer in this movie, and that is a good thing: he is a strong figure, a mentor and a sounding-board for Ryan, and watching his decline and death brings both counterpoint and perspective to the other on-screen events. The other supporting cast don't serve a single-minded purpose as they did in Patriot Games, rather they interact more, engage in political manouvreing, and indulge in self-serving machination. Ryan tries to weave his way through all this, choosing the path he believes is right, often with great doubt and a lack of confidence. This is not Patriot Games, where the goals and the target were clear and distinct, and where the cast either attacked or defended you - this is a far more politically unstable movie. Corruption is an underlying theme in this movie. It is not necessary big-money corruption, merely the act of cover-up, subterfuge and failure to follow due process. The president wants vengance against Colombian drug lords so orders covert military operations, against the express wishes of Congress, while bit-players in the CIA and NSC manouvre to protect themselves if and when it all goes bad. When it does, they surrender the troops in a fit of deal-making and cover-up, while the key drug lord himself has been double-crossed. Ryan, in the guise of intelligence expert rather than fighter (though he sees his share of that) puts all the pieces together and goes to any extent to do what is right: firstly to rescue the troops from Colombia, and then to expose the stench of presidential and bureacratic corruption. Can you guess if he is successful? The stand-out scene is when Ryan returns and confronts the President in the Oval Office, bunting away his offers and then his threats. Ford's acting in this scene is terrific: he conveys frustration, sadness and raw fury, barely restrained by respect for the office, as he squares off against the most powerful man in the world. But in the end he leaves with his dignity intact, which is the underlying moral of the story: that doing the right thing is ultimately dignifying. In essence this is what Tom Clancy's Ryan is all about.

Clear and Present Danger [Blu-ray]
I'm a Harrison fan, already owned the movie on DVD. After reading the Blu-ray reviews and a cheap price on sale at Amazon I could help but add this to my new Blu-Ray collection. The menu system for the movie is not as good as some Blu-Ray movies I have. Not sure why, but this movie also would freeze my unit if I tried to change the sound, etc. from the opening menu. As I can access the menu once the movie is playing that worked fine. The sound and picture were great considering how old this film is. It was nice to watch it again in Blu-ray on a HD projector and see the improvement over the regular DVD.

2nd best entry in series
Next to "Hunt for the Red October", this political thriller ranks 3.5 to 4 due to crisp direction by Philip Noyce and a fine supporting cast--Wilem Dafoe, Donald Moffat, James Earl Jones, Anne Archer, Benjamin Bratt, etc. The plot involves an government official found dead on a yacht and the implications that he was part of a drug cartel. Ford as Ryan is subbing for the Director (Jones)and becomes involved in a conspiracy which implicates some higher up. His discovery and the actions that follow make for an intriguing thriller. It's a little slow at first with some exposition but the final moments are gripping particularly the scene between Ryan and the President (Moffat) which is very well acted by both actors. Highly recommended for Clancy fans even if some of the episodes in the original novel have been left out for the movie.

badbones
Of the three Tom Clancey books made into movies with Jack Ryan, this one come in third. The Hunt For Red October being the best, followed by Patriot Games. Had it's moments, but not enough of them.

Blu- Ray DVD
The three Blu- Ray DVDs that I bought do not work on my one year old DVD player. Can't believe that I have to buy a new machine already.