The Sentinel (2006) User Reviews (247)

reasonably entertaining time-waster

[Buddy-51 · 6/10 · 21 May 2006]

You'd think Michael Douglas would have learned his lesson by this time, but apparently he hasn't. For even after all the trouble he had with an adulterous romance in "Fatal Attraction," here he is in "The Sentinel" playing the role of Pete Garrison, a veteran secret service agent who's having an affair with none other than the First Lady of the United States. Even worse, when it is discovered that there may be a mole secretly operating in the service, the finger of suspicion begins to point directly at Mr. Garrison. Is he truly the undercover operative working to bring down the President, or is he merely a tool being set up as a convenient fall guy in a plot to rub out the nation's chief executive?

Based on the novel by Gerald Petievich, "The Sentinel" is a decent enough thriller set in the high stakes world of political assassination. Although it frequently strains credibility, gets lost in a maze of cyber/techno mumbo jumbo, and succumbs to a few too many man-on-the-run clichés, the movie still manages to generate enough mystery and suspense to see us through most of its many rough patches. Prime credit goes to Douglas, who after all these years, could clearly do these roles in his sleep, and to Keifer Sutherland, who plays a fellow agent with personal reasons for doubting Garrison's probity and loyalty to the institution. Kim Basinger also does a fine job as the beautiful First Lady torn between duty towards her husband and the man she loves.

You'll probably forget this movie the moment you walk out of the theater, but you should have a reasonably fun time while you're still in your seat.

Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland go down a well worn road in a good movie that really should have gone straight to cable

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 30 April 2006]

Michael Douglas is a secret service agent framed in a plot to kill the President of the US. Kiefer Sutherland is the agent on his tail.

Its not a bad movie its just been there done that with form over content film making. There is no real tension because the actors are in roles they've played a dozen or so times before (Sutherland in 24 each week)so you can pretty much walk them through whats happening.Thats the problem here, its all been done before, better.

The real question is: Do I really need to pay 10 bucks a head to see whats a essentially a big screen TV movie? I think not. As I said its not bad, its just not worth running out to the theater to see. Wait for cable where this movie really belongs.

The director should stick with TV

[dlevin-4 · 6/10 · 22 April 2006]

This movie had all the potential in the world to be a modern-day "In The Line Of Fire", with great suspense, story, acting, action, etc... but the Director missed the ball. Every action and suspenseful scene was missing the added element that separates TV-movies from box-office blockbusters. It's hard to put into words, but watching all the action and suspense scenes felt like I was watching a mid-budget USA or TBS movie. The cast was great and them combined with a good screenplay and overall plot saves this movie from being a disaster. There was too little character building as well, especially for the 'bad guys'. The story was still good and the movie overall will still be entertaining, but needless to say, I was disappointed.

Reasonable Idea, Terrible Screenplay

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 18 January 2007]

The veteran agent of the American secret service Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) saved the life of president Ronald Reagan in the past and became a legend. Presently he is responsible for the personal security of the American president Ballentine (David Rasche) and the first lady Sarah Ballentine (Kim Bassinger), with whom he is having a love affair. When his informer Walter discloses that there is a traitor in the secret service and a plot to kill the president, his former friend David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) and the chief of the secret service William Montrose (Martin Donovan) are in charge of the investigation and all the agents are submitted to a polygraph test. Due to his situation with Sarah, he is compromised with the results and accused of treachery. He escapes, and in spite of chased by the secret service, he conducts his own investigation trying to find the responsible.

"The Sentinel" has a reasonable idea, of an agent failing in the polygraph test due to his love affair with the first lady, but the screenplay does not have any care for the characters. The running time should be longer and not waste in so many exaggerated details relative to the protection of the American president, and give more attention to the characters. In the end, the story is conventional, badly resolved and with bureaucratic performances of the good cast. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Sentinela" ("Sentinel")

It is too much like 'In the Line of Fire' only not as good.

[Movieguy_blogs_com · 6/10 · 21 April 2006]

In 'The Sentinel' Michael Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a veteran Secret Service agent. He is being investigated by David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) when it comes to light that there may be a traitor in the Secret Service who might be involved in an assassination plot. But David takes his investigation rather personal because he also feels Pete had an affair with his ex-wife. Agent Garrison must now prove his innocence and protect a President that everyone else believes he is trying to kill.

This film was rather disappointing. It is too much like 'In the Line of Fire' only not as good. There are several plot lines that go unexplained and few circumstances that are too unbelievable. It was not a convincing film.

Neither Michael Douglas nor Kim Basinger did that good of a job. Kiefer Sutherland seemed to be reprising his role from '24'.

I just hope the novel was a little better.

A Nutshell Review: The Sentinel

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 22 April 2006]

At first glance, this film looks like the Keifer Sutherland series 24 for the big screen. With the focus on a plot to assassinate the President of the United States, a race against time, and plenty of Secret Service agents, the agency under the spotlight in The Sentinel.

But wait, the protagonist turns out to be Michael Douglas' character Pete Garrison instead, a veteran Secret Service agent famed for taking the bullet for Reagan in 1981. The SS agents are specially trained to "take the bullet", which is what makes them special - who in the right mind will put themselves in the line of a bullet and a target? But Garrison gets implicated in the assassination plot, and has to run for his life while at the same time doing his bit of investigations into the plot. All this because of his failure in a polygraph test, due to his adulterous banging of the First Lady (Kim Basinger). Tsk.

There are shades of Clint Eastwood's In the Line of Fire. Both featured aging actors, and aging veteran has-been heroes with a bit of a historical reference, who took the bullet in their respective tours of duty. While Eastwood's movie has a more enigmatic villain in John Malkovich, The Sentinel suffered from its lack of a central strong villain, preferring to share the assassination responsibility amongst many forgettable ex-KGB villains, and the mole within the Presidential Detail. With Douglas on the run from the law, he becomes similar to Dr. Richard Kimble of The Fugitive, hunting the proverbial one-armed man while at the same time, relying on his smarts to outwit fellow agents, which turned out to be quite interesting to watch - despite slick processes, it still boils down to the performance and gullibility of individual agents.

Keifer Sutherland and Eva Longoria, top TV stars of today from 24 and Desperate Housewives, get relegated into support roles as the Secret Service investigators who are looking into Garrison's probable involvement in the assassination plot, and at times seem to have lept off the pages of CSI with their forensics skills. The beautiful couple had chemistry that could have resembled X-Files' Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, but alas these two had very little to do here. We know the reason why they're in the movie, and that is to get their fans into the theatres. Also, Longoria's role seemed unable to shake off her sexy-mama Gabrielle, and here, has her in fairly low cut blouses (Sutherland actually tells her to cover up) and tight pants (ogle-fest for fellow agents).

Nonetheless, it's still a pretty interesting look into the lives of probably the most highly charged and tense protection detail in the world, and the typical threats that they face daily, including the following up on every nutcase's threat on the life of the most powerful man in the world. It's a decent suspense and investigative thriller, with enough subplots to keep you entertained. But one thing though, like most ending action sequences, this one has a big enough loophole for you to fly a jumbo jet through.

Gordon Gekko goes Secret Service

[vanofam · 7/10 · 25 April 2006]

It's been 19 years since Gordon Gekko used "Wall Street" to let us know that greed is good. Now, Michael Douglas takes the GG persona and morphs it into a Secret Service agent, Pete Garrison. Guess what? It works! This is a solid political thriller that kept me guessing. The detail work in showing the security precautions taken by the SS on behalf of the President and First Lady was likewise intriguing. All the leads were pretty good but, try as I might, I could not accept Eva Longoria as a Secret Service agent. Whereas Jodie Foster just made you suspend belief and really think she was FBI agent Starling in "Silence of the Lambs", you do not get the same feeling with Longoria. Nevertheless, this is a fun film, escapist entertainment with the Beltway as the backdrop.

Great potential ruined by terrible screenplay

[TabareVazquez · 5/10 · 22 April 2006]

"The Sentinel" is an average-at-best action drama that does not come remotely close to reaching its potential. The entire movie feels rushed, with random details about each character's past thrown at you in a poorly-written screenplay. The revelation of the true bad guy in conspiracy films normally elicits at least some form of surprise or intrigue; instead, in "The Sentinel" the character is far too obvious and the scene reveals a tangential and unexplained back story that should instead be much more central to the plot.

The rush to cram details in every fleeting moment ruins this movie. For example, without spoiling the film, the culminating chase of the movie is ruined by a ridiculous proclamation of certain password to get by people; the ridiculousness of the situation takes away from what should be a tense finish.

This review is not meant to be overly disparaging; the film received 5/10 because it is a moderately entertaining summer movie and I did not regret going to see it. However, the skeleton plot seemed to be trying too hard and the characters were not well-utilized. Eva Longoria is very attractive though.

a paint by numbers thriller

[nobbytatoes · 6/10 · 6 August 2006]

A loyal member of the Secret Service, Pete Garrison's work is his life and is highly committed; even taking a bullet for a previous President. A friend of Garrison and colleague Secret Service agent Merriweather is gunned down at his home. Heading the investigation is David Breckinridge, a former protégé and former friend to Garrison, and rookie agent Jill Marin. When Garrison is approach by one of his informants, Merriweather's death is connected to a bigger plot; to assassinate the President. The information also points to a mole in the Secret Service. Soon after this, Garrison is framed for this assassination attempt, being chased down by Breckenridge.

Adapted from the novel by Gerald Petievich, The Sentinel is a highly entertaining, yet no brainer, political thriller. In the vain of In the Line of Fire, The Sentinel is your basic carbon copy on the same premise. This doesn't bring anything really new to this genre, it's very paint by number. But for it's formulaic plot and story, The Sentinel still has interesting qualities. The Secret Service jargon, meticulous details to protect the President are all great elements to keep the story afloat.

The Sentinel suffers greatly from under-developing the script. The love affair between Garrison and the First Lady doesn't hold true. You don't believe it even when they say they love each other. The race to find who's behind it all runs by the numbers and doesn't leave much shock and bewilderment, though the final act is greatly executed when all the pieces come together.

Director Clark Johnson, uses the same hyperactive directing style of his film Swat, and it's the visual aesthetic that's the real problem. Flashes of grungy yellow with threat letters together with static voice over, bleached out and over saturated colours clutter the screen; it morphs into a Tony Scott film. Screen swipes mixed with unsteady camera work, quick cuts and fast zooms are all utilized in a very heavy handed way and come off mediocre.

Showing he can still run at his age, Michael Douglas is convincing as an agent proving his innocence. Kiefer Sutherland does the best performance as Breckinridge. Much like his character Jack Bauer from 24, though with a less hard boiled edge, he is great in government agent roles. Eva Longoria is good value, but ends up nothing more than a pretty face. Kim Basinger is flaky as Firsy Lady Sarah and easily over looked.

If you know your 'who done it' films, you'll have this nut cracked very early, though for it's faults and flaws, The Sentinel is still highly entertaining.

Nothing New Here.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 15 March 2007]

It practically defines the words "routine thriller." Pieces of the plot are taken from "In The Line of Fire" and "The Fugitive" and probably others. It's about a Secret Service agent (Douglas) who is framed as part of a very real plot to assassinate the president of the United States. It's hard to imagine why Michael Douglas, who has both talent and a high salary, should be chosen for this undemanding role. The producers had a good chance to hire some talented but lesser-known figure, saved money without sacrificing quality, and wind up with the same results. And the director doesn't add much. The camera seems always to be moving. It jerks and spins jiggles and racks and zip pans and goes unexpectedly and unnecessarily into step motion. Now a real novelty would be if they held the damned thing still.

It's always interesting these days to see Hollywood floundering around in an attempt to find a suitable ethnicity for the heavies. Hippy radicals and black liberationists are as extinct as the passenger pigeon. Germans are showing up less often as World War II fades from memory, except that they do put in their occasional appearances still, as in "Die Hard." Like "Air Force One," this film opts for our old Cold War adversary, the Russians, "ex-KGB", but who are now identified as coming from someplace with a name like Samovaristan. Where and when will we see a new enemy on the Hollywood screen? The Arabs are waiting tensely in the wings for their introduction. Oh, sure, they'll have to come from another fictional country -- too much oil in the Middle East to rub anyone's fur the wrong way -- but the audience will be able to decipher the code. They may be from The Monarchy of Ramada but to us they'll always be "Arabs". Probably a radical sect of Moslems. Actually the chief hood in this film happens to have a working-class British accent but what the heck -- one foreign accent is as good as another.

The first half hour is filled with intrigue. Douglas is hated by one of his colleagues, Agent Javert or whatever his name is, played by Kiefer Sutherland, because of an imagined affair with Sutherland's wife. The fact is though that Douglas has been having an affair with the president's wife, Kim Basinger, so when Douglas is asked during a polygraph whether he's done anything to break the code of the Secret Service, well -- he flunks it. And the chase is on. Shootouts in malls, hotel basements, ships, in mid-air, on rooftops, and in seedy rooms. The bad guys all die. The good guys all live.

You've seen better.

Exciting and Intelligent... Most of the Time

[aharmas · 8/10 · 25 April 2006]

There was some hesitation from my part about what this movie had to offer. For starters, the casting didn't seem right. Kiefer Sutherland had already done very well in "24" and the preview didn't seem to offer anything challenging to him or the audience. Eva Longoria appeared out of place, and the rest didn't seem very interesting.

When the film finally ended, I was not completely displeased for I had seen a decent thriller that could have been much better, had the responsible parties taken a little more care to watch for the narrative gaps and given a little more care to character development. We have seen threats of this type before, and that made the main conflict much more challenging to the writers. As an audience, we don't want to sit through the same old story again. We want to see something different, be thrilled and entertained.

There is nothing wrong with the casting. From Kim Basinger's delicious first lady. She carries herself with enough grace and sex appeal to make the part memorable. Michael Douglas has been and done that before. Unfortunately, the president is much of a non entity to even care about his fate. Sutherland rehashes his "24" tough guy approach with enough power to make it big enough for the big screen, and Eva does a passable job, as the newcomer.

Don't expect as many twists and fireworks as some of the established classics ("North by Northwest" and "The Fugitive" come to mind). Leave your expectations outside and enjoy the ride for whatever it might be. It's o.k.

Bar none, hands down the biggest load of tripe I've ever endured.

[silver12dp · 22 April 2006]

Seriously, I don't even know where to begin. It's like somebody gave a bazillion dollar budget to an autistic third-grader and said 'make me a movie about the secret service'. The editing is ridiculous, the cinematography was random at best, every single syllable of dialogue was completely retarded and the directing ... well, was there even a director there? Everything was just so pointless and lame and pointless...and random....and lame.

Here's a SPOILER for you; this movie is the dumbest thing you'll ever see.

However, if you liked this piece, you'll also enjoy; Deterrance, Dark Blue, and a partial frontal lobotomy.

The First Lady ... That's Rational

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 23 April 2006]

Greetings again from the darkness. Slightly above average political thriller with SURPRISE ... Michael Douglas wearing an expensive suit! Directed by Clark Johnson, who was so fine as Meldrick in "Homicide: Life on the Streets", this film had real potential to travel down roads no other film had touched. In the end it is a bit disappointing because it gives up too soon and takes an all too familiar plot turn.

The scenes with Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland barking at each other like two frat boys chasing the same girl are easily the highlights. Eva Longoria was obviously cast to entice some "Desperate Housewives" fans who otherwise would have no use for a testosterone driven thriller. She brings little to the table ... other than her looks, and has light years to go before she could be considered a movie star. Martin Donovan has the requisite stone face and beady eyes for his role and Kim Basinger is downright stunning as the First Lady. Also, it is nice to see Blair Brown back in the White House, even in her curiously limited role.

The film opens with some beautiful shots of the many historical buildings, landmarks and monuments in D.C. Regrettably, the photography in the rest of the film, as well as the structure of many of the scenes just can't maintain that standard. Overall, it is a fun film ... especially for those who enjoy the Secret Service stuff. However, it disappoints because it could have been much more with some unconventional twists and turns added.

A Plot That Resembles Swiss Cheese

[fwomp · 2/10 · 30 November 2006]

Trying to conceive of something as insipid as THE SENTINEL would be pretty difficult. The problems are many. The result is terrible and loaded with plot holes.

Michael Douglas stars as Pete Garrison, a Secret Service agent who "took one" for Reagan during the attempt on his life. Years later we find Pete assigned to the Whitehouse Family, mainly as a guard for the First Lady (Kim Basinger, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL). Troubles arise as we see Pete's close involvement with the First Lady, and a sudden threat against the President himself (David Rasche, UNITED 93). When Pete fails a polygraph test, he's singled out as a disgruntled agent by investigator David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland, 24 TV series).

As the presidential assassination plot unfolds, Pete finds himself on the run from his own people. His only confidant is the First Lady, and she's reluctant to tell anyone about their affections for one another (which is why Pete failed the polygraph in the first place). But is Pete really innocent? Or is he simply trying to buy time until he can kill the President? If he is innocent, how can he help prevent the assassination attempt while running from the Secret Service?

The one, big, overwhelming problem with this film is that there's no justification for the reason behind the presidential threat. Isn't that what the movie's supposed to be about? One would think so! But the audience is never let in on why the assassin(s) want to kill the Prez. Hmm. Someone forget to put that in the script somewhere?

And what's with David Breckinridge's (Kiefer's) new partner, Jill Marin (Eva Longoria, CARLITA'S WAY)? Seems that she was put in the film strictly as a piece of a$$-candy. What was her purpose again? Did she do anything other than look nice in tight pants and a low-cut blouse?

There are so many problems with the basic premise of The Sentinel as to be laughable. The action is too easily stymied by the "What the...?" responses sure to be uttered by those unfortunate enough to watch the movie.

Spoiler. The Civil Service techno-details are excellent. The plot stinks.

[davidthomas1572 · 6/10 · 24 April 2006]

Spoiler!!! Stop now if you don't know the ending. I hate Tom Cruise Mission Impossible bastardizations. In the old TV series that used to be one of my all time favorites, Mr. Phelps was the voice of God. He was the ultimate Good Guy. Cruise's updated version of MI (No. 1) turned Mr. Phelps into the Bad Guy. That's like making Tonto the Bad Guy who does in the Lone Ranger. I hate movies -- or novels -- that do that, where it turns out that the DA prosecuting the innocent accused killer turns out to have done the murder himself, or the Vice President turns out to be the mole from the whatever enemy who poisons the President -- or in the case of the Sentinel, the head of the Secret Service turns out to be the Bad Guy about to kill the Prez. I warned you, that's a huge spoiler. But to me, that kind of plot is already spoiled. As the main revelation of the movie, it stinks.

Besides that, even if you don't have any more trust in your leaders than to give credence to "Mr. Phelps" turnabouts, Sentinel has some other gaping holes just too big to let slide. Maybe, just maybe, you could buy that the First Lady is having an affair with her SS detail chief behind the Prez's back. That's not impossible. Presidents have affairs, why not First Ladies? But can you really believe a guy could rise to the top of the Service itself without ever having been fully screened? Really! You think? And what was that mystery terror organization behind the plot, and how did they get onto the SS head's entanglement with the now-defunct KGB? Hmmnh? Another poser: Can anyone explain how that Xavier loser guy got all that insider info about the First Lady's affair with Douglas to begin with -- if you tell me it was the Head of the Service feeding it to him, then why the whole rest of the movie? He would have just removed the Douglas character for cause from the outset, don't cha know? The cast was good and the acting was varsity level. I liked that Michael Douglas gets to act his age, and the plot doesn't let him get away with being a 60 year old superstud who can outrun the young agents under his charge. He is slow, and he gets winded quickly. I liked Keifer. I never watched 24, but now I think I'd like it. And it was good to see Kim Basinger again, after all those years when she dropped out.

If you ignore the plot holes and the revolting spoiler, you could really like the movie for what it shows you about the inner workings of the Secret Service, one of the all-time real success stories of government service. A Beltway insider who should know told me that that part of the film was A+, and I'll take his word for it.

Pure Fun

[jfeldheim79 · 7/10 · 23 April 2006]

Remember the good old days when movies were supposed to be a form of fun entertainment where you could forget about everything except for what you're watching on the big screen? Well those days are back thanks to The Sentinel.

Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland unite friendly demographics and Eva Longoria and Kim Basinger provide solid eye candy throughout this well-oiled never-boring entertainment. Douglas and Sutherland have plenty of on-screen time together and largely act like intelligent good-intentioned Secret Service agents hell-bent on protecting the presidency.

There's plenty of story-line and a plot that just keeps unfolding and unfolding without getting too far out of control. Perhaps there are some question marks raised by potential plot holes but it doesn't get in the way of a what is a purely fun and entertaining movie. Never a dull moment in this one.

Not bad...not great...typical Hollywood thriller

[paulconstable · 6/10 · 19 April 2006]

After seeing a commercial for "The Sentinel", my friend said it looked like "24: The Movie". Fortunately, it's not. It isn't, however, a super-amazing gripping the edge of your seat type thriller either. It moves along at a nice page, the acting is good (except for Eva Longoria...who seems to think acting equals pouting and frowning), it's nice to see Toronto up on the big screen (even with all those pesky Canadian protesters...finally someone captured how violent and disturbing we hosers really are).

Not a bad night out if you just want to eat popcorn and forget about life.

Standard but well done suspense

[funkyfry · 6/10 · 29 June 2006]

I ended up seeing this movie more or less by accident, as we were at the drive-ins and had just seen another movie, were waiting for one to come on a different screen and ended up watching the beginning of this movie and deciding it was worth watching. But just barely. I thought the visual style and flair of the movie was impressive, especially in the early scenes showing the routine that secret service agents have to go through and the contrast between their rigorous activity and the relatively relaxed attitudes and personalities of the people they are protecting. Which in this case includes Kim Bassinger, the president's wife having an affair with one of the SS agents played by Michael Douglas. None of these characters is particularly interesting, nor is the story anything new -- it's basically a combination of "In the Line of Fire" and "The Fugitive" -- but the film will probably please anyone who enjoys suspense/action films of this type because it is actually quite well made, the cast is very good, etc.

Actually one funny observation -- the main reason we stuck around to watch the movie was that the guy playing the President was the same guy who used to play "Sledge Hammer" on the TV show. I used to love that show and I haven't seen him in anything in years. Nice to see he's still working.

Basically well done but very familiar

[oshram-3 · 5/10 · 8 May 2006]

The plot of this film, a little bit of a stretch, focuses on Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas), a Secret Service hero who took a bullet for Reagan (damn it!) as he becomes embroiled in what looks like a plot to kill the president. In fact Garrison does have something to hide, and it's up to fellow agents Breckenridge (Sutherland) and Jill Marin (Eva Longoria) to try and figure out what. As soon as Garrison realizes they're on to him, though, he goes missing, and so a cat and mouse game ensues between Breckenridge and Garrison to find out what exactly is going on and who is guilty of it.

The movie is executed slickly and with some style, and all of the actors are comfortable enough in their roles that it all goes down smoothly. Douglas is in fine form, as is Sutherland, both of them handling their roles with ease, which again, helps you overlook the somewhat ludicrous plot twists.

The main problem with The Sentinel is that you've seen this all before: the old pro and his erstwhile protégé at odds; the rookie agent brought to the case "because fresh eyes may be just what we need;" the canny agent using all his tricks of the trade in the field to outwit his pursuers (you saw it recently, and better, in the Bourne films); and, of course, the protégé learning to trust his instincts over his training that something just isn't right. The Sentinel feels familiar in that regard, offering up few surprises, but it's executed with enough skill so that you don't mind passing a few hours watching some skilled actors go through the motions. It may be a bit pre-packaged, but that doesn't make it all bad; in fact, the familiar faces, settings, and plot tangles actually help The Sentinel at times.

Unless you're a huge fan of any of the leads, you could probably catch this on DVD and not miss anything much.

Enjoyable.

[russem31 · 7/10 · 7 September 2006]

"The Sentinel" (2006) is another enjoyable Michael Douglas thriller, directed by Clark Johnson. Michael Douglas plays his typical thriller character (on the likes of "The Disclosure" or "A Perfect Murder"). Kiefer Sutherland also plays a role similar to his Jack Bauer character on the hit TV series "24". A highlight is Eva Longoria (of another TV series "Desperate Housewives" fame). As for the story and script, it's another typical thriller story with typical thriller dialogue. However, that said, if you just want to sit back, relax and enjoy a film, you won't be disappointed with this one - a 7 out of 10.

Note: it's interesting to see Michael Douglas playing a Secret Agent to the President when he WAS the President in "The American President"!

If you think this will be like "24" - forget about it...

[bob-basanti · 4/10 · 19 January 2007]

Based on the star power of the cast and the success of Kiefer Sutherland's TV series "24", I was intrigued about the potential of this story. However, I quickly found myself debating about the merits of going to bed early or staying with the movie to the ending. This story had too many holes concerning the background of the various characters involved, especially the people who are conspiring to assassinate the President. No explanation is provided as to their motives. Further, the personal dynamics of the 2 principal Secret Service agents concerns something that happened in their past. Again, no substance is provided as to why this became an issue. Other romantic relationships that are playing out in the background do not unfold in any manner to show why they are even woven in to the situation or where they are going. This movie certainly had potential, considering the climate of current world politics. But, the creation of a number of sub-plots all taking their turn as the focal point of the story, will only create a number of hanging unanswered questions if you are a thinker. If you want a mindless, quasi-action story, then you may like this one! On a positive note, I found Eva Longoria's performance to be quite good and a departure from the notorios "Gabrielle" on Desperate Housewives.

An Entertaining Political Thriller.....Period!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 4 December 2006]

I enjoyed this film. I thought it was an excellent political thriller about something that's never happened before - a Secret Service agent going bad and involved in an assassination plot. Unfortunately, for Michael Douglas' character, "Pete Garrison," they think HE's the mole but he isn't.

He's just a morally-flawed agent having an affair with the First Lady! Since he's doing that, he's unable to give an acceptable polygraph exam and that makes him suspect number one when it's revealed there is a plot to kill the President.

"Garrison" is forced to go on the lam but at the same time he's still trying to do the right thing by protecting the President. Douglas does a fine job in this role. I don't always care the people he plays but he's an excellent actor. Keifer Sutherland ("David Breckinridge") is equally as good (at least in here) as the fellow SS boss who hunts down Douglas until convinced he has been telling the truth. When he does the two of them work together in the finale to discover and then stop, if they can, the plot. The crooks are interesting, too, by the way. Also, I have never - and never will, unfortunately - see a First Lady who looks as good as Kim Basinger

This is simply a slick action flick that entertains start-to-finish. Are there holes in it? Of course; probably a number of them, and a reason you see so many critical comments. However, it is unfairly bashed here. It just isn't intelligent enough for the geniuses here on this website. My advice: chill, just go along for the ride and enjoy all the action and intrigue. Yes, it gets a little Rambo-ish at the end but otherwise it gets high marks for entertainment.....which is what movies are all about.

Send Someone to Wake Me Up.

[tfrizzell · 2 May 2006]

"The Sentinel" is a suspense-thriller that is neither suspenseful nor thrilling. Amazing that a film that is billed to be so fast-moving and exciting would be so dull and sleep-inducing. There seems to be a plot to assassinate the president (David Rasche). It becomes obvious early on that an insider in the Secret Service is assisting radicals from the former Soviet Union in their deviant goal. Michael Douglas, a veteran Secret Service agent who actually took a bullet on Reagan's failed assassination attempt, becomes the prime suspect due to a hidden affair he is having with the first lady (Kim Basinger). The typical chaos ensues with Douglas failing a lie detector test, being chased by Kiefer Sutherland (doing his best "24" impression) and red-hot new rookie Eva Longoria (doing her best to shed her "Desperate Housewives" image) and finally a silly resolution that brings everything together in a nicely wrapped package. Though ambitious and stylish, "The Sentinel" does nothing to endear itself to its audience. The characters are cardboard cutouts that just seem to be there and the plot has been done to death in variations for decades. Douglas and Basinger have absolutely no chemistry and honestly it seems they would have been better suited for their roles a good 10 or 15 years ago. Long and boring, "The Sentinel" does not have near enough going for it to warrant more than a very mediocre review. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Rainy day film

[KanKan99 · 6/10 · 9 February 2020]

Just watched this and quite enjoyed it. A good rainy day film. Easy to watch and love Douglas and Sutherland in it.

Average action thriller

[masonsaul · 5/10 · 24 August 2019]

The Sentinel is an average action thriller, the plot is extremely predictable with no surprises and derivative of other action movies that have come before it. However, it's an enjoyably average action thriller due to a fast pace and really good performances from Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland and enjoyable action.