It's a shame that "The Sentinel" wastes its intelligent façade, because with all the unthrilling thrillers that have come and gone from movie screens, this one might have been worth something.
The Sentinel (2006)
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Reviews Counted:133
Fresh:44
Rotten:89
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: The Sentinel starts off well enough but quickly wears thin with too many plot holes and conventional action sequences.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some intense action violence and a scene of sensuality
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Apr 21, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $36,226,144
Synopsis: Pete Garrison is a U.S. Secret Service agent who saved a president's life by jumping in front of a hail of bullets, over twenty years ago. Well-liked and respected by his colleagues in the... Pete Garrison is a U.S. Secret Service agent who saved a president's life by jumping in front of a hail of bullets, over twenty years ago. Well-liked and respected by his colleagues in the Secret Service, Garrison is a career agent who now heads the First Lady's detail. He lives in a high-level, orderly world of hierarchical structure, plans, maps, motorcades, code names, lingo and procedures. It's a universe that makes sense, until secrets begin to tear it apart. Pete's fellow agent and friend, Charlie Merriweather, hints at wanting to share critical and confidential information. Before that can happen, however, Merriweather is shot dead at his house in a crime that is made to look like a botched robbery. The investigation falls to the Secret Service's top investigative agent, David Breckinridge, a volatile combination of by-the-book and hothead, Garrison's protégé, and, until recently one of Garrison's best friends. Breckinridge follows the evidence and only the evidence and scrupulously tries to avoid working from his gut. That's what being a great investigator requires. Garrison, as perhaps the greatest protective agent in the service, often has to work from gut, from pure instinct. In protective work that is often all you have. Garrison's and Breckinridge's recent falling out was triggered by Breckinridge's mistaken belief that Garrison was having an affair with Breckinridge's now ex-wife. Jill Marin, a tough, sassy and ambitious young agent who just graduated second in her class at the Secret Service Academy, arrives for her first field posting. She has requested a work detail with Breckinridge because Garrison, while leading a field instruction exercise at the Academy told Jill that Breckinridge was the best investigator in the entire Service. Together the trio begins to uncover what appears to be an inside job to assassinate the president – a traitor in the ranks of the Secret Service. It's never happened in the institution's 141-year history. Suspicion ultimately falls on Garrison, who's going to find it extremely difficult to clear his name because someone is framing him. Whoever is framing Garrison knows he's vulnerable because he's devoting considerable effort to hiding a monumental secret. Suspected of being treasonous, Garrison goes on the run, pursued by Breckinridge and Marin – his own colleagues – as he tries to nail the real mole and save the president's life. --© 20th Century Fox [More]
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger, Michael Douglas, Martin Donovan
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger, Michael Douglas, Martin Donovan, Blair Brown, Ritchie Coster, David Rasche, Eva Longoria
Director: Clark Johnson
Director: Clark Johnson
Screenwriter: George Nolfi
Producer: Michael Douglas, Arnon Milchan, Bill Carraro
Composer: Christophe Beck
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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Reviews for The Sentinel
It may be slick and entertaining, but this is also one of the most careless political thrillers ever made.
The screenplay throws elements such as motive and common sense out the window in favor of derivative shootouts and chase sequences.
Pretty much in line with the majority of Hollywood thrillers that work in spite of themselves.
It looks and sounds great, but it sure could have used a more imaginative script.
No new ground was broken, but the point of this film was to entertain and it did.
There was one thing that was way better than anything on "24," though. Her name: Eva Longoria.
There's nothing flashy about The Sentinel, but there doesn't need to be.
Clark Johnson’s slick direction and taut performances by a good cast fail to conceal the fact that the plot of George Nolfi’s script is laughably dimwitted.
Just barely "fresh" but really keeps your attention with unique touches which are now common in prime time dramatic television for free.
This serviceable action thriller starts off promisingly but soon disintegrates into an implausible mess barely salvaged by the presence of old pros like Douglas and Basinger.
Michael Douglas, now 61, needs to push whatever sex appeal it is his booking agents (and the public) think he possesses. I don't care, and neither should you.
Watching it isn't like seeing something new and exciting; it's like re-watching a good movie you've already seen.
Implausibility And Hollywood Globaloney Make This A Weakling In The Thriller Arena.
Latest News for The Sentinel
April 19, 2007:
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Another week, another horror film. That's the mantra in Hollywood at the moment. Among the four new films going into wide release this weekend are Sony's terror tale... More...
May 07, 2006:
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April 24, 2006:
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April 20, 2006:
Critical Consensus: A Weak "Sentinel," So-So "Dreamz" Are Made Of This, "Silent Hill" Not Screened
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
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| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
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| 90% 90% | District 9 |
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