BEFORE: I'm getting a late start tonight, after attending a wedding - so I'll be up into the wee hours watching this one - and people wonder why I have insomnia...
THE PLOT: CIA Analyst Jack Ryan is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel.
AFTER: Harrison Ford, Anne Archer and James Earl Jones all carry over from last night's film... but in the scenes where James Earl Jones and Harrison Ford share screen time, I'm still hearing Darth Vader giving instructions to Han Solo...
In this film Ryan uncovers evidence of a secret military operation against the drug kingpins (because they are the clear and present danger mentioned in the title, see?) and the operation is led by John Clark, who Ryan met in "Sum of All Fears", and meets again here for the first (second?) time... The problem here is that the fourth Ryan book was used as a re-boot for the franchise, so somehow it became the "first" film. I guess you either have to read the books, or watch the films, but you can't do both.
This is mostly talky-talky for the first half, and then when Ryan shuts down the military operation, he goes in with Clark to rescue the stranded members. Do I believe that the acting director of the CIA would go on such a dangerous mission? Not really, but it did make for an exciting climax to an otherwise routine film.
This wraps up another franchise - I peeked ahead in the plotlines of the Tom Clancy novels, and I think Ryan becomes President at some point in the books. I doubt those movies will ever get made - or does "Air Force One" count as a stand-in?
Also starring Willem Dafoe (last seen in "Inside Man"), Benjamin Bratt (last seen in "Catwoman"), Miguel Sandoval (last seen in "Blow"), Harris Yulin (last seen in "Training Day"), Ann Magnuson and Dean Jones.
RATING: 7 out of 10 rocket launchers
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