If you’re hunting for an old-school political thriller to close out the year, Netflix still has one — but not for long. Clear and Present Danger, Harrison Ford’s sharpest outing as Jack Ryan, will leave the platform on January 1, and while the Prime Video era of John Krasinski’s Ryan has stolen the spotlight lately, Ford’s version remains the definitive take for many fans.
Before Ford stepped into the CIA analyst’s shoes, 1990’s The Hunt for Red October introduced Tom Clancy’s character to Hollywood. But the second entry, Patriot Games, needed a new star after Alec Baldwin traded hunting terrorists for tap shoes in A Streetcar Named Desire. Meanwhile, John McTiernan didn’t want to deal with IRA themes as a director, so Paramount rebuilt the project with a fresh lead and filmmaker. Who walked in? Why, it’s one of the biggest stars in the world at his peak in Ford, and Australian director Phillip Noyce.
The not-such-a-gamble paid off and, when Patriot Games hit theaters in 1992, earning $178 million on a modest $45 million budget, it set the table for Clear and Present Danger in 1994. That sequel blew past it financially, grossing $215.9 million against $62 million and cementing Ford as the face of Clancy’s most reluctant hero.
What Makes Ford’s Jack Ryan Work?
In Clear and Present Danger, Ryan inherits Vice Admiral James Greer’s (James Earl Jones) role after his illness and death, only to be blindsided by corruption. When a covert operation against Colombian drug cartels spirals out of control, Ryan is framed, forcing him to team up with Special Forces officer John Clark — played by Willem Dafoe in one of the character’s most underrated screen incarnations — to uncover the truth.
Ford and Noyce had planned a trilogy, aiming to adapt The Sum of All Fears next — but script problems stalled progress. Years later, Ben Affleck rebooted the role in the 2002 film adaptation, before Chris Pine did it again in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit in 2014. And of course, Krasinski’s acclaimed series just wrapped a four-season run — proving Jack Ryan’s perpetual relevance. But for many, Clear and Present Danger remains the high-water mark. It captures the uneasy space between patriotism and political rot, the idea that the biggest threats aren’t always across borders — sometimes they’re in boardrooms.
Clear and Present Danger is streaming now on Netflix, but will be leaving soon.
