Author: Tom Clancy
Hollywood has a tendency to alter stories from books to films. Sometimes it’s good, but most of the time it is not. Of the numerous changes/alterations made in the Tom Clancy “Clear and Present Danger” film, two altered scenes stood out the most between the movie and the book.
In the novel, Jack Ryan manages to break into CIA Director of Operations, Robbert Ritter's safe to get access to documents that prove the existence of "Operation Reciprocity." In the movie starring Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, the scene was switched up a bit. Instead of the safe, Ryan manages to hack into Ritter's computer and tries to locate the files. The slight change was made to align with modern times and computer files and secret servers.
The other difference between the book and the movie that really stood out was when Colombian drug Lord Felix Cortez doesn't kill Moira, the secretary to the FBI director after seducing her in the book. When he learns that FBI director Emil Jacobs will make the trip to Colombia, he keeps her alive to continue to use her for future information. In the book, Moira attempts suicide after learning that she was being used but she survives. Later on, Deputy Assistant to the FBI Dan Murray goes with her to Guantanamo Bay where Cortez is being held in order to help her put the trauma behind her. However, in the movie, Cortez kills Moira as soon as he learns that the FBI director is coming to Colombia.
Tom Clancy wasn't too pleased with some of the changes but went along with them because of the difference between literature and film. Although the book Clear and Present Danger was really good, the movie version was much better in my opinion.
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