Movie Review: Clear And Present Danger (1994)

A Jack Ryan thriller, Clear And Present Danger features some impressive action but is otherwise cluttered with too many characters, too much plot and an impassive hero.

Cali Cartel drug lord Ernesto Escobedo (Miguel Sandoval) instigates the bloody murder of a corrupt American businessman and his entire family. Unfortunately for Escobedo, the murdered man was a personal friend of US President Bennett (Donald Moffat), who hints strongly to his National Security Advisor James Cutter (Harris Yulin) that he wants to exact revenge through a CIA-funded dirty war. Cutter authorizes Bob Ritter (Henry Czerny), the CIA's Deputy Director for Operations, to take action. Cutter hires John Clark (Willem Dafoe), a Panama-based mercenary, to mobilize a commando group and go after Escobedo's assets.

With the CIA's Deputy Director for Intelligence Jim Greer (James Earl Jones) in ailing health, Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) is promoted and finds himself at odds with Ritter, who wants to keep the intelligence group in the dark while potentially setting up Ryan to take the fall in case the mission goes sour. Meanwhile Escobedo's chief advisor Félix Cortez (Joaquim de Almeida) senses an opportunity to take advantage of the American rage and topple Escobedo from his perch.

An adaptation of the Tom Clancy book directed by Phillip Noyce, there is plenty that is wrong with Clear And Present Danger. The suggestion that the President of the United States would order a dirty war because an old college buddy of his (and a corrupt one at that) was maybe killed by a drug cartel is ludicrous. Then the script packs in a large assortment of characters each with a different agenda, and the film chokes on too many directions. What may have worked in a meaty book becomes so much clutter, and the overblown 141 minutes of running time are testament to a thriller chasing too many targets.

The real bad guy is either Escobedo or Cortez, the film is never sure. And back in Washington, both Cutter and Ritter are unscrupulous careerist bureaucrats playing the multi-layered cover-your-butt game. Meanwhile Jim Greer is tottering about at the hospital burning through screen time but contributing little, while Jack Ryan is reduced to a non-entity, doing next to nothing to advance any of the numerous narratives. When Ryan and Clark end up hacking a path through the Colombian jungle to rescue surviving mercenaries, they appear as lost as the film's thrust. Meanwhile, Anne Archer as Mrs. Ryan wanders through the movie fascinated by the lack of anything meaningful for her to do.

There is one excellent action sequence to celebrate, Noyce delivering a thrilling ten minutes as a convoy of US government SUVs is ambushed on a dusty Colombian street. That despite the high ambush casualty count there appears to be no retribution or reaction from the US government speaks volumes about the film's flawed logic.

After this outing there would be no Jack Ryan movie outing for eight years, until 2002's The Sum Of All Fears with Ben Affleck taking over the role. This is one agent who clearly needed the long hiatus.

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Movie Review: The Hunt For Red October (1990)

A Cold War submarine thriller, The Hunt For Red October is a classy action movie centred on a Soviet commander gone rogue and the consequent high stakes cat-and-mouse game between the superpowers in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Soviet navy launches its latest submarine, a gigantic typhoon-class vessel named Red October capable of running in near total silence. At the helm of the maiden voyage is Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery), the most respected Soviet naval commander, with Captain Vasily Borodin (Sam Neill) as his second in command. American CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) is alerted to the Red October's launch, and CIA Vice Admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones) and National Security Adviser Jeffrey Pelt (Richard Jordan) take a great interest when the entire Soviet fleet also sets sail, potentially in preparation for a war-like mission.

It is then apparent that Captain Ramius has gone rogue, and is charting his own course across the Atlantic to execute an authorized mission. Ryan is convinced that Ramius and his officers want to defect, and Pelt gives him three days to try and make contact with Red October and confirm its intention. The USS Dallas submarine commanded by Commander Bart Mancuso (Scott Glenn) is closest to Red October, and attempts to keep track of the Soviet sub. With both the Soviet and American fleets giving chase while guarding against each other, Ryan has to take risks and anticipate Ramius' next move to avoid a potential international catastrophe.

An adaptation of the Tom Clancy novel directed by John McTiernan, The Hunt For Red October is an effective underwater chase movie, filled with sleek and stealthy submarine machinery. McTiernan generates and maintains a pleasing level of tension by exploiting the tilt in global security that can be caused by a technical advantage, and provides the necessary pauses to explain the military and submarine jargon as necessary. Without any of it being profound, the film contains a good balance between character interaction, moments of sharp action, and underwater scenery (courtesy of cinematographer Jan de Bont) of subs manoeuvring around obstacles and hunting each other down.

A good half of the film takes place on-board the various submarines, and McTiernan avoids any traps of claustrophobia. The subs are portrayed as places of work, decision-making and action, and in which the trained men of both superpowers function efficiently and without complaint. But regardless of the film's fast pace, at 135 minutes The Hunt For Red October does sail on for longer than needed. This is a story that could have been told in two hours, and some of the padding is less than useless. Ryan, for example, witnesses a completely inconsequential crash on board an aircraft carrier that adds nothing to the film.

The plot is engaging without being too believable. The lure of a carefully planned defection is persuasive as Ramius' hidden agenda, and Sean Connery gives the role enough gravitas to propel the story forward. Nevertheless, there are quite a few holes in the logic of the script, and often the narrative drops down to a juvenile level where supposedly responsible adults play games, take risks, and trust hunches with ridiculously expensive machinery and nuclear weaponry at stake. The climax is particularly pretentious, with an on-board gunfight and a submarine torpedo duel proceeding simultaneously, finally registering as preposterous on the silly scale.

Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill and James Earl Jones provide strong support to Connery without ever fully rising above the fairly stock behaviour of tense military men. And in accordance with a super macho world, the film is completely devoid of any women characters of consequence.

Driven by near-viable technology and the deep-seated suspicions that fuelled a decades-long cold conflict, The Hunt For Red October is a worthwhile expedition.

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The Movies Of James Earl Jones

All movies starring James Earl Jones and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977, voice only)

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980, voice only)

Conan The Barbarian (1982)

Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983, voice only)

Coming To America (1988)

Field Of Dreams (1989)

The Hunt For Red October (1990)

Patriot Games (1992)

Clear And Present Danger (1994)

Judge Dredd (1995, voice only, uncredited)



The Benchwarmers (2006, voice only)

Click (2006, voice only, as himself, uncredited)

Rogue One (2016, voice only)

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Movie Review: Field Of Dreams (1989)

A lyrical fable about the meaning of life, Field Of Dreams embraces a loveable eccentricity as it meanders down the path of answering the big questions. Mixing the rich mythologies of baseball and the cultural earthquake of the 1960s, the film celebrates life as the sum total of poignant outside influences and deeply personal decisions.

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) never properly resolved his relationship with his late father John, a bit-part minor league baseball player. Ray experienced the turbulent 1960s, married Annie (Amy Madigan), and finally settled down as a corn farmer in Iowa. Walking his fields one day, Ray hears a Voice repeatedly telling him  "if you build it, he will come". After seeing a vision, Ray goes ahead and flattens a patch of his corn field, and builds a baseball diamond, complete with floodlights. Soon, Shoeless Joe Jackson, John Kinsella's hero, appears from the wall of corn surrounding the diamond; he and Ray talk, and Ray pitches to Jackson for some practice hitting. Other members of the 1919 Black Sox scandal soon start joining Jackson on the field, but only Ray, Annie and their daughter Karin can see them.

There are more instructions from The Voice, and these lead Ray to take a road trip and connect with Terence Mann (James Earl Jones), a once influential 1960s author now reduced to a crusty, angry and reclusive curmudgeon; and to Archibald "Moonlight" Graham (Burt Lancaster), a baseball player from the 1920s, who fielded half an inning in one game and never had an at-bat. Graham went on to become a well-respected doctor, and although he died in the early 1970s, Graham first appears to Ray in his elderly "Doc" persona, and then as a youthful and eager ball player.

Congregating back at the baseball field on Ray's farm, now busy with many players from bygone eras, the young Archie Graham gets a chance to fulfill his ambition of one major league at-bat before his ball career gets interrupted again; and Terence receives an invitation to rediscover his magic in the corn field. There is one more visitor to Ray's field of dreams, and a final lesson about appreciating what life has to offer.

In one of Kevin Costner's defining roles, he plays Ray Kinsella as a man embarking on an incredible yet needed journey, guided by forces that he does not understand to connect the dots of his life. Costner conveys anchored bewilderment to perfection. Amy Madigan defines the spunky and fully supportive wife, and shines in the one scene at the school PTA meeting where she demonstrates what she contributed to Ray's life. James Earl Jones and Burt Lancaster appear to have enormous but controlled fun lending their domineering authority to the roles of Terence Man and Doc "Moonlight" Graham.

There are many hidden and interweaving meanings and themes running through Field Of Dreams. Most apparent is the value of listening to the inner voice when making decisions, although in this case instinct is crystallized as a clear outer voice. Ray does not fully understand where The Voice will lead him, but he trusts the instructions and never regrets doing so.

Celebrating life as the accumulation of past legacies and key individual decisions is the overall theme of the movie. Baseball played a large part in Ray's heritage and childhood; the 1960s defined who he was, and led him to his wife; she in turn influenced his decision to relocate to a farm in Iowa. These elements are mixed in a rich broth, represented by Joe Jackson and Terence Mann, to awaken Ray to the treasure of his life's accomplishments.

The character of Moonlight Graham serves to reconnect Ray with his father's achievements, as well as his own lack of success on the baseball diamond: just like John and Ray Kinsella, Graham never made it in the Big Leagues; but Graham vividly demonstrates to Ray the value of contributions made by failed baseball players. There indeed is a rich purpose to the life of those not quite good enough to hit, pitch or catch a baseball.

Phil Alden Robinson directed his own screenplay, adapted from W.P. Kinsella's book Shoeless Joe. Robinson allows the magic to flow with a tinge of humour and a shading of pathos, the story never pretending to be anchored in anything other than the enchantment of the soul.

Field Of Dreams succeeds due to its unadulterated joy of the incredible, the film a surrender to a pleasant self-aware dream. From the early moments of The Voice talking to Ray to the long series of ghosts starring in time-shifted events, Field Of Dreams takes place in an alternate reality where the fantastic is acceptable, and a diverse set of miracles work together towards a common, human-centred and very down-to-earth conclusion. Sometimes, the spirits just enjoy the freedom of providing guidance using their own curious methods.

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Movie Review: Coming To America (1988)

A comedy about finding true love, Coming To America fits a familiar story into a shiny comedy package and provides decent laughs, mainly thanks to the comic talents of Eddie Murphy.

A rich man hiding under the rags of poverty to find a woman who would love him without his wealth is a love fable as old as they come. Coming To America distracts from the obvious by injecting its central theme with another ancient plot device, the worlds-apart culture clash. Prince Akeem (Murphy) is the next-in-line to the throne of Zamunda, a fictional African country. Raised in lush luxury at the secluded royal palace, and never having to do anything for himself, Akeem is turning 21 and his parents King Joffe (James Earl Jones) and Queen Aeoleon (Madge Sinclair) have arranged a bride for him to marry.

Unhappy at being pampered throughout his life, Akeem finds the rebel within, refuses to adhere to his parents' wishes, and flies off to America with his personal aid Semmi (Arsenio Hall) to seek the true love of his life. Since they are looking for a future queen, they naturally choose Queens, New York as the place to search for the perfect bride. They rent a dump of an apartment, pretend to be poor, and take jobs as floor cleaners at McDowell's, a fast-food joint operated by Cleo McDowell (John Amos). Cleo's smart and compassionate daughter Lisa (Shari Headley) attracts Akeem's attention and becomes the target of his wooing efforts. Akeem needs to overcome competition from Lisa's egotistical boyfriend Darryl (Eriq La Salle); whining from a home-sick Semmi; and a clumsily desperate attempt at intervention by King Joffe and Queen Aeoleon, before he can win himself a new future queen.

Eddie Murphy wrote the story, and he keeps the laughs coming with welcome good timing and some rather tiresome over-exuberance. He receives good support from Jones, whose booming voice and haughty personality are perfectly suited to the role of a domineering king. In one of his more memorable big-screen roles, Arsenio Hall is also excellent in the role of the side-kick who is too quick to harken for the comforts of home and even quicker to pretend to be Prince when it suits him.

Coming To America does suffer from Murphy always looking more comfortable in New York than the flagrantly artificial dream world of Zamunda, and once Akeem and Semmi settle into New York and the pursuit of Lisa begins, the plot is fixed onto the sturdy rails of predictability all the way through to the sugary ending. Director John Landis has the easy task of keeping his cameras pointing in the right direction, and allowing his star to do his thing.

Coming To America is a vehicle for Murphy at his peak: it lacks the freshness of unpredictability or any sort of edge, but nevertheless works as a showcase for his sterling talent.

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Movie Review: Patriot Games (1992)

A thriller that easily abandons any sense of gritty realism and rolls over to die on the meek hill of Hollywood excess.

Harrison Ford brings Tom Clancy's hero Jack Ryan back to the screen, and he is surrounded by no shortage of talent including Anne Archer, James Earl Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Harris.  But Patriot Games is too eager to pile on the fake threat by villains in the shape of an Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group. The bad guys combine the worst excess of incredible, inexplicable resources attached to stunning incompetence and lack of discipline when it matters most.

Retired CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Ford) is in London to give a speech when he foils an attempted assassination of a member of the Royal Family by Irish terrorists. The terrorist hit-squad includes brothers Patrick and Sean Miller; Ryan kills Patrick, and Sean Miller (Sean Bean) is captured but traumatized by his young brother's death and vows revenge.

The terrorist group is led by Kevin O'Donnell (Patrick Bergin) whose methods are too extreme even for the IRA. O'Donnell and his men violently free Miller during his transfer to prison, and are soon distracted from their homeland mission: they head to the US to take pot-shots at Ryan, his wife Cathy (Anne Archer) and young daughter Sally. With his family threatened, Ryan rejoins the CIA to help bring down the terrorists, who take refuge at a training camp in the North African desert -- but only temporarily. O'Donnell, Miller and their crew are soon back on US soil, mounting a most ridiculous full frontal commando assault on Ryan's home.

Patriot Games collapses early and often by abandoning all links to reality in a film that demands some semblance of authenticity. The ease with which the terrorists criss-cross the Atlantic is laughable. The abandonment of their struggle to pursue a distraction in eliminating Ryan is ridiculous. The spectacular resources they bring to the battle to free Sean Miller en-route to prison are impressive but absurd. The British security arrangements and responses to terrorism are breathtaking in their ineptitude.

Worse of all, the sudden incompetence of the terrorists at critical moments, in being unable to complete the opening assassination or achieve any of their targets at Ryan's house, just amplifies the farcical nature of the script. In both instances director Phillip Noyce effectively freezes time to allow Ryan's heroic intervention.

Along with Harrison Ford and Anne Archer, a strong supporting cast barely saves Patriot Games from fully-baked turkey status. James Earl Jones is head of the CIA; Samuel L. Jackson a military training officer; Richard Harris an IRA fundraiser in the US; all are nearly wasted as Patriot Games lurches from one ludicrous moment to the next. Rarely have so many stars been so badly let-down by so much nonsense.

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Movie Review: Conan The Barbarian (1982)

How does an Austrian bodybuilding champion with limited command of English embark on the path of movie superstardom? A movie that requires him to (a) say very little; (b) appear mostly shirtless; and (c) demonstrate strength by chopping people's head off, should do the trick.

And so Arnold Schwarzenegger takes the first few steps of a journey that would lead him to the absolute peak of the screen action hero mountain. In Conan The Barbarian he says perhaps ten words over the course of two hours. The medieval setting gives him the excuse to wear wild-man clothes, and to lose his shirt frequently. A couple of  enthusiastic sex scenes even allow him to go pantless as well. And the generally barbaric behaviour of everyone involved in the mythical story gives him license to slaughter with a sword en-mass, proving that when it comes to brute strength, Schwarzenegger has no competitors.

Conan The Barbarian is a simple story of revenge.  A peaceful village is sacked by a horse-riding, snake-worshiping tribe, under the leadership of Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones). A young boy witnesses both his parents killed, but survives the massacre. He is taken into slavery, gains enormous strength and swordsman skills, is given his freedom, becomes Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and sets off to avenge his parents. He teams up with Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), also a skilled warrior, and they run across King Osric (Max Von Sydow). His daughter has been abducted by Thulsa Doom, now a leader of a large cult. Conan, Valeria and a couple of friends invade Doom's compound, free the King's daughter, and have a final confrontation to the death with the snake-charming Doom and his guards.

Conan The Barbarian aims for a grand, mythical, mystical, fog-shrouded mood. It achieves it in patches, and when it strikes the target, the film is engrossing. But just as often the film comes across as barely a notch above unintentional parody.

Schwarzenegger establishes unmistakable presence and commands the screen to the point that his lack of lines almost goes unnoticed.  James Earl Jones and the brief appearance of Max Von Sydow add weight to the film, making up for the largely inexperienced and unknown other cast members.

Director John Milius does well to surround his star with carnage.  The continuous gory blood-letting, body-part hacking, head-lopping and skull-crushing action works to immediately elevate Schwarzenegger into a larger than life character. He is one of the very few star-destined actors who could have possibly benefited from his kind of screen introduction, and he made the most of it.

Produced by the master of opportunity Dino De Laurentiis, Conan The Barbarian features a rich orchestral music score by Basil Poledouris. With the limited dialogue throughout the film, the soundtrack plays a prominent role in augmenting the on-screen action. Similar to the movie itself, the music walks a fine-line between serious grandness and self-bloated cheese. In this case, an appropriate description for the star, as well.

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