The Sentinel Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)April 21st, 2006
The Sentinel
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 2.0 out of 4
Director: Clark Johnson
Cast: Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria, Kim Basinger Screenplay: George Nolfie (novel by Gerald Petievich)
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (some intense action violence and a scene of sensuality)
Everything about Clark Johnson's The Sentinel is unremarkable. Even despite its knockout cast of veteran performers, the film still manages to piddle about in mediocrity. I often disparage films for trying too hard or getting ahead of themselves or taking on too much of a load. But with The Sentinel, it's as though they were handed a one-two punch for brilliance and simply didn't care.
Michael Douglas comes out of semi-retirement to play the role of Pete Garrison, a Secret Service old timer who took a bullet for the administration twenty years previous. He's a straight-shooting sort of guy; the type who steps loudly into the workplace, commenting on the secretaries new hair or a co-worker's recent trip to Angola. What hides behind Mr. Garrison, however, is that he's having an affair with the First Lady, (Kim Basinger). The two, they say, are in love. This makes things convenient for assassins looking to frame Garrison for a plot to murder the President (David Rasche). They send him pictures of Garrison smooching the First Lady, lead him into some suspicious situations, and soon rival Detective Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) and his sexy underling, Jill Marin (Eva Longoria), are chasing him through the D.C. streets accusing him of treason.
The way these plots usual find their footing is in the scheme the hero is framed for. The hero chases after answers while deftly evading his pursuers and manages to shove the solution in their face as the clock strikes the eleventh hour. But The Sentinel chooses a different route, not bothering with the plot to assassinate President Ballantine and instead running Garrison around town chasing after the First Lady to assure her of his innocence. Problem is, the relationship has neither chemistry nor conviction. It's silly and the script knows it, poking jibes at it throughout. The film would move quicker on propulsion from the actual assassination effort. But when it comes down to dealing with the assassination conspiracy, the film wheezes out a solution and a shoddy action scene, skimming over the entire point as though it were moldy bread.
We can tell Director Clark Johnson knows how tired his film is. Desperate acts of style are dropped randomly throughout. He tries for some alternating color palettes, slow-mo effects and the such, but it all comes off like tricks he learned from directing "The Shield". In fact, most of the film feels like a television show. Most of the actors bleat about in characters translated mostly from their earlier roles. Kiefer Sutherland especially acts like a Jack Bauer that's been chained to an office chair for the last ten years. I didn't even realize the First Lady was played by Kim Basinger until I looked through the credits. Her role asks so little of her that it's difficult to actually tell. Eva Longoria's fine, but doesn't do much more than shun the graveling youngsters pawing at her feet for a date. Michael Douglas is the only one who emerges pretty much whole. He's good as usual, and his part offers up some tough acting bones.
The Sentinel isn't much more than a dud. It looked like a winner, but when a film about the assassination of the President wants as little to do with the actual assassination of the President, we simply end up not caring.
-www.samseescinema.com
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