“The Sentinel” (20th Century Fox)
Like A Poorly Written Episode of “24”
Michael Douglas returns to the screen in “The Sentinel,” a thriller concerning an assassin inside the ranks of the President’s Secret Service. Keifer Sutherland, Eva Longoria and Kim Basinger co-star. The presence of Sutherland makes you realize how much better this type of situation is handled on his TV show “24.”
Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a veteran agent in the Secret Service. He is a legend within the group since he took a bullet when the assassination attempt was made on President Reagen’s life. He is still on the job and protecting President Ballentine (David Rasche) and his wife Sarah (Basinger).
Pete’s nemesis is his one time friend David Breckenridge (Sutherland). They have parted ways over Pete’s alleged involvement with Breckenridge’s wife. When new agent Jill Marin (Longoria) arrives to start her duty with the Secret Service she is assigned to partner with Breckenridge. She is also a friend of Pete’s.
The action begins when Pete discovers a plot to assassinate the President. It seems someone in the Secret Service is on the plot. Later that person is thought to be Pete. Breckenridge is more than happy to deliver the news. Now Pete has to escape custody and find the real traitor before he is locked up for good.
The plot is not anything to get excited over and the characters are drawn so thinly that you never care what happens to anyone. It is like the script was just thrown together and no attention to detail was even considered.
Douglas is okay in his role. He doesn’t bring any special charm or charisma to it. He looks good but that is all. Basinger is better in her role of the First Lady. She looks fantastic and you get the impression she could have given a lot of depth to the role if she had been given a chance. Sutherland and Longoria are wasted. They are obviously just there to add some “marquee value.”
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
In the old days this would have been an adequate movie, but in these days of high ticket prices and the accessibility of vides, audiences demand more. Run of the mill just doesn’t cut it and this movie is definitely run of the mill.
I scored “The Sentinel” an alert 4 out of 10.
