History Film / ClearAndPresentDanger

* ActionDuo: Ryan and Clark.
* ActionSurvivor

* CallingTheOldManOut: "How dare ''you'', sir!"

* TheCartel: The BigBad.

* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: The President threatens to do this to Admiral Greer.

* EveryHelicopterIsAHuey: Justified by RuleOfSymbolism.

* FriendlySniper: Domingo "Ding" Chavez.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Jack is very quick to put his foot down when the President begins to lecture him on acting by RevengeBeforeReason.
** This ending scene even has shades of the subtrope YouAreWhatYouHate, with the President not being conscious that he murdered people as much as Escobedo did. It's also intended as a DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, to analyze many modern political issues.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Admiral Greer, we hardly knew ye.
* IronicEchoCut: "What the hell is this..."

* NeckSnap: [[spoiler:Moira Wolfe]].

* NoNameGiven: Narrowly averted with the President. If you listen very closely during the news report in which the President declares his friendship with the yacht victim, you can hear a reporter give it away: it's Bennett.

* PuppetGun

* RevengeBeforeReason: The president's desire to get back at the cartels for killing his friend results in him authorizing an illegal military operation that results in the deaths of innocent civilians and American soldiers. It gets worse when [[spoiler:Cortez stages that ambush killing the FBI Director.]]

*** Played with when Ryan [[spoiler:reveals to Escobedo how Cortez was betraying the Cartel and his own boss, knowing full well Escobedo's rage would turn on Cortez and help Ryan recover the imprisoned covert troops.]]
* RightManInTheWrongPlace: The story of Jack Ryan's life.
* RunningGag: "Plus change."
* RuthlessModernPirates
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: President Bennett. Subverted in that, [[RealityEnsues no, he really doesn't]]. When Congress lays down the law, even he has to listen and when he doesn't everything goes south.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: FBI Director Jacobs only gets a few minutes of screentime, but his murder at the hands of Cortez's hitmen serves to dramatically escalate tensions with the cartels.

* SmugSnake: A few, most notably Felix Cortez and Bob Ritter.

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Col. Cortez]]

* TitleDrop

* WesternTerrorists

''Clear and Present Danger'' is a 1994 film starring Creator/HarrisonFord, adapted from [[Literature/ClearAndPresentDanger the novel of the same name]]. It is the third and final film in the Jack Ryan trilogy (the first two being ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'' and ''Film/PatriotGames''. ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'' was a reboot of the franchise).

* InfantImmortality: Averted. When the airstrike is called in on the cartel, children are seen playing in the strike zone seconds before the bomb hits. Later on the President of the United States reacts with horror when he sees news footage of a child's body being removed from the area.

* FalseFlagOperation

* TheCartel

* RightManInTheWrongPlace

* CurbStompBattle: The FBI director and his agents are cornered and viciously mowed down by Cortez's men; despite their brave efforts, it appears as though Ryan is the only survivor.

Literature/JackRyan (Ford), now Acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence following Admiral James Greer (Creator/JamesEarlJones) being diagnosed with terminal cancer, must investigate the murder of a life-long friend of the POTUS in relation to what appears to be a drug cartel in Columbia, only to be pulled into a war illegally started by the US government.

** The first time is to obtain funding for anti-drug operations in Columbia, which he promises under oath will not be used for military operations. GilliganCut to the Special Forces team being inserted in Columbia, indicating that Cutter and Ritter siphoned the funds to run it.

* MyCard: Jack Ryan has some business cards done up showing that he's the acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence, which comes in handy on a couple of occasions, like turning up to see Columbia's most powerful drug lord without an appointment or buying a $2 million helicopter.

* HollywoodSilencers: Clark has one on his gun in the movie. While it's realistic that his elite military unit ''would'' have such high-quality military-grade accessories, the real thing doesn't look much like the one he's using, and even the well-muffled shot would still sound like a loud cough rather than the soft squeak it makes when he fires it.

* Hypocrite: Jack is very quick to put his foot down when the President begins to lecture him on acting by RevengeBeforeReason.

Literature/JackRyan, now Acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence following Admiral Greer being diagnosed with terminal cancer, must investigate the murder of a life-long friend of the POTUS in relation to what appears to be a drug cartel in Columbia, only to be pulled into a war illegally started by the US government.

Literature/JackRyan must investigate the murder of a life-long friend of the POTUS in relation to what appears to be a drug cartel in Columbia, only to be pulled into a war illegally started by the US government.

-->''*Ryan and Clark find the body of an American soldier*''
-->'''Ryan:''' One of ours?
-->'''Clark:''' One of mine.

-->'''Clark:''' What are you going to do ? Knock on his door?
-->''*knock-knock*''
-->'''Jack:''' Mornin', I'd like to see Ernesto Escobedo. I don't have an appointment.
* HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee

* InfantImmortality: Averted. When the airstrike is called in on the cartel, children are seen playing in the strike zone seconds before the bomb hits. Later on the President of the United States reacts with horror when he sees news footage of child's body being removed from the area.

* MoodWhiplash: When one drug lord shows up in an outlandish big-wheel truck, everyone's giggling at it including the sniper team painting it for a laser-guided missile. But then Chavez notices there are ''kids'' playing within the blast radius...

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: President Bennett. Subverted in that, no, he really doesn't. When Congress lays down the law, even he has to listen and when he doesn't everything goes south.

-->'''Jack:'''"I'm sorry, Mr. President. I don't dance."

-->'''Commando''': "The chicken is in the pot."
-->'''Clark''': "Cook it."
-->'''[[StuffBlowingUp BOOM]]'''

--> '''The President:''' How dare you come in here and lecture me?
--> '''Jack Ryan:''' How dare you, sir!
--> '''The President:''' How dare you come into this office and bark at me like some little junkyard dog? I am the President of the United States!
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The drug cartel intelligence officer Felix Cortez [[NeckSnap snaps Moira Wolfe's neck]] after getting from her the information his employer desired. Ironically, it leads to him getting discovered because the FBI agents investigating the murder found a recording of his voice on Moira's answering machine.

* BrickJoke: To the ending of Patriot Games.
--->'''Sally:''' John, what do you want, toast or...?
--->'''John Jr.:''' Waffles!
--->'''Sally:''' We don't have time for waffles, you can have toast or...toast.

* DrugsAreBad

* CrossesTheLineTwice: President Bennett not only intends to let Ryan take the fall for the incoming fallout over the fiasco in Colombia, but nonchalantly implies that the late Admiral Greer will share the blame for the actions of his colleagues. You can see the TranquilFury on Ryan's face at this.

* CallBack: Jack's first scene has him taking some interest in his son playing with a toy [[Film/TheHuntForRedOctober submarine]].

* ContinuityNod: In ''Film/PatriotGames'', Sally is asked what she wants for breakfast. She says "Pancakes". Jack replies that there is no time for pancakes, it is either toast or toast. Here, in ''Film/ClearAndPresentDanger'', the little John Ryan, not yet born in previous movie, is asked by Sally what he wants for breakfast, and she proposes toast. He replies "Waffles". She tells him that there is no time for waffles. So he says "Pancakes". She replies "Toast".

[[caption-width-right:350:''Truth needs a soldier'']]