Rating of
3/4
Little action & adventure, but still a good movie
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/02/08
Harrison Ford plays "Jack Ryan" for the final time in the movie based on the the novel of the same name. This time, he is involved in the war on drugs eith one major complication -- the murdered friend of the President of the United States was a money launderer for the Columbian drug lords.
This is not a shoot-em-up movie at all. It is more a mystery which moves quite slow at times, with more suspense than there is action. Even though the film is slow, it moves at a good pace that doesn't make the viewer lose interest.
There is some gunplay, with maybe one or two good gun battles. There are also a few good explosions. However, they don't carry the film. Although there is violence in this film, blood is kept to a minimum.
What does carry the film is the performances and the writing. Although the characters are not developed well, except maybe those who appeared in the previous films. I felt many of the characters were pretty much one-dimensional.
The soundtrack really didn't impress me. It's all instrumental, and didn't really stand out in any of the scenes. In fact, I don't think the music was that loud at all to be noticed unless the other sound effects were quiet.
The cinematography is pretty good, though not spectacular. There are some good scenes that were edited nicely. Gun battles and scenes with explosions are edited together with quick takes, but are a little short.
There are some surprising twists and turns in this movie. Unless you've read the book, you might not really expect them. There is one plot twist that is quite obvious when it is revealed near the beginning of the movie that affects one of the supporting characters in a dramatic way. When this character meets his fate, you are not surprised at all. There were other twists I didn't expect.
One disappointing part of the film is where they decided to end it.
Thanks to the pacing and the performances in this film, "Clear and Present Danger" is worth taking a look at. However, I suggest you either read the series of novels or see the previous movies first.
