The Clear and Present Danger movie is a 1994 political thriller directed by Phillip Noyce, in which Harrison Ford plays CIA analyst Jack Ryan as he uncovers a secret US military campaign against a Colombian cartel. It is the third film in the jack ryan movies series, runs 141 minutes, and took in about $216 million worldwide on a $62 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.
Clear and Present Danger opens with a murder on the water, and the rest of the film grows out of who ordered what in its aftermath. US Coast Guard officers board a yacht in the Caribbean and find that a businessman, a friend of the President, has been killed along with his family. Jack Ryan, the CIA analyst played by Harrison Ford, is made acting deputy director of intelligence while his boss, Admiral James Greer, is treated for cancer.
Ryan soon learns that the dead man had been laundering money for a Colombian cartel led by Ernesto Escobedo. The President is angry over the killing, and he quietly lets his national security advisor start a covert campaign against the cartel. Ryan is not told, so he helps win congressional funding for what he believes is a limited effort. That gap between what Ryan thinks he is paying for and what the money actually buys is the engine of the whole film.
The story comes from a Tom Clancy novel, part of the long run of techno thrillers built around Ryan, and the screenplay is credited to Donald E. Stewart, John Milius and Steven Zaillian. If you are new to the series, this is the second film with Harrison Ford in the lead, after patriot games movie (the jack ryan movies in order page lays out the full run).
John ClarkWillem Dafoe
Col. Felix V. CortezJoaquim de Almeida
CIA Deputy Director Robert RitterHenry Czerny
National Security Advisor James CutterHarris Yulin
President BennettDonald Moffat
Ernesto EscobedoMiguel Sandoval
Domingo ChavezRaymond Cruz
Dr. Cathy RyanAnne Archer
Sally RyanThora BirchMore of the cast: James Earl Jones (Admiral James Greer), Honorato Magaloni (Mining Company Manager), Ted Raimi (Satellite Analyst), Clark Gregg (Staff Sergeant), Kevin Cooney (CIA Counsel).
| Market | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | August 3, 1994reported | the-numbers.com |
| UK | September 16, 1994reported | themoviedb.org |
| AU | October 6, 1994reported | themoviedb.org |
| Market | Subscription | Rent or buy |
|---|---|---|
| US | fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus, Kanopy (Free) | Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home |
| UK | Paramount Plus, Sky Go, Now TV Cinema, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Basic with Ads, Channel 4 Plus | Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store, YouTube |
| AU | BINGE | Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, YouTube, Fetch TV |
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, checked 2026-11-03.
| Director | Phillip Noyce |
|---|---|
| Writers | Steven Zaillian, John Milius, Donald E. Stewart |
| Producers | Mace Neufeld, Robert Rehme |
| Music | James Horner |
| Cinematography | Donald McAlpine |
| Budget | $62 million |
|---|---|
| Domestic (US and Canada) | $122 million |
| International | $94 million |
| Worldwide | $216 million |
| Worldwide, in September 2026 dollars | $491 million |
Jack Ryan box office for every film.
James Horner composed the score for Clear and Present Danger (1994), and the score album, "Clear and Present Danger", was released on the Milan label on August 2, 1994, with 10 tracks. That makes it a score album rather than a collection of songs, and Horner is the only composer credited with the film's music.
Is there a song on the soundtrack? No featured songs are on record for this film, whether licensed or written for it. So, if you are searching for a particular track from the movie, the answer is the Horner score itself. For a Phillip Noyce thriller that moves between CIA offices, the fallout from a Colombian cartel's crimes and a covert operation run without Jack Ryan's knowledge, that puts all of the musical weight on the composer rather than on needle drops.
If you want to hear the film's music away from the screen, the Milan album is the one to look for. For how Horner's work compares with the composers on the other Jack Ryan films, see the jack ryan soundtrack page.
Sources: musicbrainz.org, themoviedb.org
The full plot of Clear and Present Danger turns on one betrayal: the people running a secret war in Colombia decide to abandon their own team. Here it is in steps.
1. The hidden operation. The President secretly lets his national security advisor, James Cutter, set up an illegal military operation in Colombia. Ryan gets funding approved without knowing it is paying for this hidden force. The field operative John Clark recruits and leads the team in the jungle.
2. The ambush in Bogota. Ryan travels to Colombia on a diplomatic mission. The cartel's intelligence chief, Felix Cortez, has his convoy ambushed in Bogota, and several of Ryan's colleagues die.
3. The counterstrike. The hidden team retaliates by bombing a cartel meeting, but Escobedo and Cortez survive.
4. The double cross. Cortez makes a deal with Cutter. He will take over the cartel, and in return Cutter must abandon the team and give up its location. The team is left stranded and hunted.
5. Ryan finds out. Back on his own trail, Ryan finds proof of the illegal operation, and he learns that the President and the officials involved have been promised pardons.
6. Ryan and Clark. Ryan goes to Colombia to find Clark, who at first believes Ryan betrayed him. Once they work out that they were both lied to, they join forces and free the captured team members from a cartel compound.
7. The escape. Escobedo is killed, and Domingo Chavez kills Cortez during the escape.
8. Washington. Back in Washington, Ryan refuses the President's request to help hide the scheme and agrees to testify before Congress.
Clear and Present Danger opened in US theaters on August 3, 1994, according to The Numbers, taking $20.3 million from 2,378 theaters in its first weekend. British audiences saw it on September 16, 1994, and Australian audiences on October 6, 1994 (both dates as reported on TMDB). No studio release or trade report names a premiere date, city or venue for the film.
Certifications vary by market: PG-13 in the US, 12 in the UK and M in Australia. Over its theatrical run the film made $122 million domestically and about $94 million abroad. Box Office Mojo puts the worldwide total near $216 million, the best of the five Jack Ryan films and ahead of The Hunt for Red October at about $201 million. jack ryan box office lays out every film's grosses side by side.
The ending of Clear and Present Danger is a choice, not a fight: Ryan has the proof and the people responsible have pardons, so the only move left is whether to speak. Ryan and Clark rescue what is left of the abandoned team, and the two men who wronged them both die in the escape, Escobedo and Cortez. Back in the United States, the President asks Ryan to stay quiet. Ryan refuses and chooses to tell Congress the truth even though the people responsible have pardons. The film closes on that decision to testify.
In my opinion, that is the right place to stop. The jungle rescue is the film's big action finish, but the moral point lands in the Washington office, where the President asks Ryan to cover for him and Ryan will not. It could be argued that this is what separates Ryan from Cutter: he works inside the system and he is willing to be the one who holds it to account. The pardons are the film's quiet joke on the audience, because they tell you nobody in power will pay a legal price, and so Ryan's testimony is the only cost anyone bears.
Clark and Chavez, who both survive, go on to appear in later Jack Ryan stories, which is why the film feels like the start of a wider cast and not only a Ford vehicle. If you liked how it plays out, the jack ryan timeline shows where it sits, and jack ryan movies ranked gives my full order of the series.
The story of Clear and Present Danger moves between the Caribbean, Washington and Colombia, including Bogota, though these are the settings of the plot and not a confirmed list of shooting sites. The film opens at sea with the Coast Guard boarding the yacht, then shifts to the CIA offices and the Washington political world where Ryan works. Its long middle and final stretch play out in Colombia, from the diplomatic convoy ambush in Bogota to the jungle where Clark's team operates. The studio and the trades have not published a list of where each scene was shot.
In the US, Clear and Present Danger streams with a subscription on fuboTV, MGM+ (including the MGM+ Amazon Channel) and Philo, and it is free on Kanopy. It can also be rented or bought on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. In the UK it is on Paramount Plus, Sky Go, Now TV Cinema and Channel 4 Plus. In Australia it is on BINGE. These listings come from JustWatch via TMDB, checked on November 3, 2026, and Netflix is not listed in any of the three countries. Availability changes, so see where to watch jack ryan for the film by film table.
Yes, Clear and Present Danger (1994) is the next Jack Ryan film after Patriot Games (1992). Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Thora Birch and James Earl Jones return, and Phillip Noyce directs both films. James Horner scored both. It is the third film overall, after The Hunt for Red October (1990).
It is a slow burning political thriller with a few large action set pieces, so it suits viewers who like plot over constant action. It is the highest grossing Jack Ryan film, with about $216 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo, and at 141 minutes it is the longest. Whether it is good is a matter of taste, and the ending explained section gives the site's opinion, labeled as such.
No, Clear and Present Danger is based on a Tom Clancy novel, a work of fiction. The screenplay is credited to Donald E. Stewart, John Milius and Steven Zaillian. The novel is one of the books built around Jack Ryan, and the film adapts it for Ford's second outing in the role.
Harrison Ford played Jack Ryan in two films, Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994). The role then passed to Ben Affleck for The Sum of All Fears (2002) and later to Chris Pine for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014). A reason for the recast has not been confirmed by the studio. Ford had himself taken over from Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in The Hunt for Red October.
Clear and Present Danger is rated PG-13 in the US, 12 in the UK and M in Australia. It runs 141 minutes.
