Agent Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA when Admiral Greer is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is murdered on his yacht, Ryan starts discovering links between the man and drug dealers. As former CIA agent John Clark is sent to Colombia to kill drug cartel kingpins in retaliation, Ryan must fight through multiple cover-ups to figure out what happened and who's responsible.
Acting
Ford's wounded integrity vs. Dafoe's haunted intensity
Direction
Noyce balances boardroom tension with jungle chaos
Practical Effects
Real explosions, real helicopters, zero CGI guilt
Director
Phillip Noyce
Harrison Ford
Jack Ryan
Willem Dafoe
John Clark
Joaquim de Almeida
Col. Felix V. Cortez
Henry Czerny
CIA Deputy Director Robert Ritter
Harris Yulin
National Security Advisor James Cutter
Donald Moffat
President Bennett
Miguel Sandoval
Ernesto Escobedo
Raymond Cruz
Domingo Chavez
Anne Archer
Dr. Cathy Ryan
Thora Birch
Sally Ryan
Benjamin Bratt
Captain Ramirez
Dean Jones
Judge Moore
Ann Magnuson
Moira Wolfson
James Earl Jones
Admiral James Greer
Hope Lange
Senator Mayo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Ford's second and final Jack Ryan film; he reportedly turned down $20 million for a third because the script wasn't right. The role went to Ben Affleck for 'Sum of All Fears.'
The film's covert Colombia operation uncomfortably echoes real 1980s Iran-Contra scandals and CIA drug trafficking allegations—Clancy's fantasy of accountability hit different in '94.
US
