The Sentinel

it could have been much more

Film Review by Stephen Carty | 13 Sep 2006
Film title: The Sentinel
Director: Clark Johnson
Starring: Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger
Release date: September 1st
Certificate: 12A

Thanks to his ill thought out affair with the First Lady, Michael Douglas's secret service legend Pete Garrison becomes the prime suspect of an insider-inspired assassination plot on the president and must go on the run (in true Richard Kimble style) to prove his innocence and save the day. Though sounding like the recipe for a trite, seen-it-before political thriller, 'The Sentinel' raises itself above average when investigation head Kiefer "Jack Bauer" Sutherland verbally spars with Douglas and throws the movie's best lines with sardonic abandon. However, whilst there's an engaging look at the inner workings of US intelligence and some decent plot-necessary action, it lacks the tension of 'In the Line of Fire' and the emotional involvement of 'The Fugitive'. The nagging feeling that it could have been much more is hard to escape as mainstream-targeted editing removes much of the emotional flesh and the convoluted third-act sees various sub-plots tied up in convenient little bows. [Stephen Carty]

http://www.sentinelthemovie.com/