The Sentinel (2006)

One good movie

The DVD arrived safely and I am enjoying watching it. I think it is one good movie. July 5, 2008

Plain vanilla thriller

The most interesting thing shown in this thriller is the current technology used to lift fingerprints from an object--and that actually IS interesting. But to begin with, the whole Secret Service thing was done before in Clint Eastwood's tremendously superior movie In the Line of Fire. Among other things, the featurettes provided in this DVD essentially echo what's included in the Eastwood movie DVD (in fact, In the Line of Fire's featurettes are superior also).

The plot of The Sentinel is really standard and you can basically spot the bad guy almost right from the get-go. Stock characters and plotting do not make for a gripping time at the movies. This is kind of fun to watch, hence the three stars, but certainly not top-drawer entertainment.

We have the tried and true experienced agent (Michael Douglas); we have his friend who's no longer his real friend because of a personal matter (Kiefer Sutherland); we have the hotshot rookie agent (Eva Longoria); we have the anonymous bad guys (actors whose names we haven't heard before); we have the surprisingly sexy first lady (Kim Basinger)...well, you get the idea.

Somebody's out to kill the president (whoa. now THERE'S a plot device I haven't come across until now), and all kinds of foreign nasty people are potentially involved--drug dealers, terrorists, you name it.

Yawn. But at least the action parts are pretty good, so you don't completely fall asleep while watching. It's OK.

It's just that it ain't any better than OK. January 30, 2008

Good action/adventure flick...

I thought this was a good action/adventure flick. It had a little too much soap opera side story to it, but over all it was exciting, well-paced with some twists. I would recommend it for action/adventure fans. September 29, 2007

An Entertaining Political Thriller.....Period!

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.

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. 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. September 12, 2007

Mediocre Movie, few thrills

I watched the Sentinel a few weeks ago and have thought about writing a review ever since. The movie, a political thriller set in Washington DC, was so uninspiring that I found it hard to put my thoughts into words. I guess the main point is you should not watch this movie for Keifer Sutherland. If you're a 24 fan, then you might be intrigued by this movie. It is one of Sutherland's few big screen appearances since becoming the star of 24. In Sentinel, Sutherland plays Jack Bauer without the motivation, the nuances or the common sense. You'll see nothing new in Sutherland. Eva Longoria plays his rookie partner. The movie needed a good looking cast member for a thankless, generic part, so they got someone with a name. Michael Douglass and Kim Basinger also star and they both are good in their roles and made the movie someone tolerable. In fact, I enjoyed parts of the movie and most of the cast was on top of their game, but the suspense and action scenes were clumsily put together and hard to follow.

Michael Douglass plays a secret service agent assigned to First Lady. It seems he had a falling out with Sutherland concerning Sutherland's wife. The final line in the movie about Sutherland and his wife is cringe inducing and an example of incredible mediocricy in filmmaking. I can't really even recommend this movie as a rental. Perhaps you can check it out on HBO like I did.
August 6, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...