someone once say that absolute power corrupts absolutely . that say be the theme at the heart of clear and present danger and the third film in the jack ryan film series . with a near perfect combination of act and action and music and script it be also a thriller of the high quality . harrison ford take his performance of jack ryan up to a new level with this film . his performance a the principled ryan stay int eh front seat at all time a ryan confronts those in the film and especially in the final scene of the film . ford be also at the top of his game in the action sequence of the film as well prove yet again that ford be both a fine actor and a fine action hero as well . the rest of the cast be good as well . willem dafoe make a welcomed good guy appearance a clark and the mysterious cia operative lead the secret war . anne archer make a welcomed return a cathy ryan though she be underused sadly . there also henry czerny and harris yulin a the me lead the war of behalf of their president ( play expertly by donald moffat ) plus there joaquin de almeida and miguel sandoval and raymond cruz and tim grimm and of course james earl jones . in truth the whole cast be good enough to mention if there be enough space . of course there the action sequence of the film . of special mention be the signature ambush sequence that easily belong amongst the best action sequence ever dedicate on a frame of film . while that sequence alone be excellent one can not forget about the many other ( and small ) sequence in the film that be no less impressive . overall though it be unfair to call this an action film by any mean . if anything can this describe this film it be the word thriller of the high quality . the screenwriter take tom clancy superb novel and trim down to film length and but keep many of the novel key point . the result be and when put together with phillip noyce direction and the superb score of james hormer and an intelligent thrill ride where the corruption of absolute power lead to a secret war with life and the reputation of nation at stake where enemy be both within and without with only one man capable of unravel it all . clear and present danger be a thriller of the most unusual kind . it be a thriller that ( in the word of jack ryan ) see the world not in black and white but a right and wrong . with it tale of a secret war and hidden agenda and the film be all the good for it . it may even be the best of the jack ryan film make so far but do not take my word for it . go see the film for your self .