Someone once said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. That saying is the theme at the heart of Clear And Present Danger, the third film in the Jack Ryan film series. With a near perfect combination of acting, action, music and script it is also a thriller of the highest quality.<br /><br />Harrison Ford takes his performance of Jack Ryan up to a new level with this film. His performance as the principled Ryan stays int eh front seat at all times as Ryan confronts those in the film, especially in the final scenes of the film. Ford is also at the top of his game in the action sequences of the film as well proving yet again that Ford is both a fine actor and a fine action hero as well.<br /><br />The rest of the cast is good as well. Willem Dafoe makes a welcomed good guy appearance as Clark, the mysterious CIA operative leading the secret war. Anne Archer makes a welcomed return as Cathy Ryan though she is underused sadly. There's also Henry Czerny and Harris Yulin as the me leading the war of behalf of their President (played expertly by Donald Moffat) plus there's Joaquin De Almeida, Miguel Sandoval, Raymond Cruz, Tim Grimm and of course James Earl Jones. In truth the whole cast is good enough to mention if there was enough space.<br /><br />Of course there's the action sequences of the film. Of special mention is the signature ambush sequence that easily belongs amongst the best action sequences ever dedicated on a frame of film. While that sequence alone is excellent one can't forget about the many other (and smaller) sequences in the film that are no less impressive. Overall though it is unfair to call this an action film by any means.<br /><br />If anything can this describe this film it is the words "thriller of the highest quality". The screenwriters took Tom Clancy's superb novel, trimmed down to film length, but kept many of the novel's key points. The result is, when put together with Phillip Noyce's direction and the superb score of James Hormer, an intelligent thrill ride where the corruption of absolute power leads to a secret war with lives and the reputations of nations at stakes where enemies are both within and without with only one man capable of unraveling it all.<br /><br />Clear And Present Danger is a thriller of the most unusual kind. It is a thriller that (in the words of Jack Ryan) sees the world not in black and white but as right and wrong. With its tale of a secret war and hidden agendas, the film is all the better for it. It may even be the best of the Jack Ryan films made so far but don't take my word for it. Go see the film for your self.