Wick's Review

Summary - Very Good 3.5

The Sentinel came out in ‘06, halfway through Kiefer Sutherland’s bravura run as Jack Bauer on TV’s 24, the quintessential post-9/11 secret agent series. From there it’s a short hop to Secret Service mucky-muck in the Presidential Protective Division. Michael Douglas is also well-cast as his fellow stud senior-agent, the guy who is the First Lady’s personal bodyguard. She’s played by Kim Basinger, the refined sexpot herself.

Gee, what could go wrong there? Nothing the formula doesn’t dictate. Yes, The Sentinel is formulaic but well done, worthy of not changing the channel if you stumble upon it during late night TV.

Acting - Great 4.0

Michael Douglas is the leading-man of the movie, notwithstanding that Kiefer Sutherland was the leading-man of the moment in ‘06. Douglas doesn’t disappoint, old enough to have many deep regrets, young enough to be deeply virile. Sutherland fares less well, performing the entire movie dressed up in a blue business suit. The formality keeps his inner Jack Bauer bottled up, turning him into just another hard ass.

• Kim Basinger impresses as First Lady Sarah Ballentine, a fancy role requiring grace and gravitas, both of which the blonde beauty easily embodies.
• Eva Longoria doesn’t fare so well. Maybe it’s a TV star thing. Even though their shows were huge hits in ’06, the stars of Desperate Housewives and 24 fail to jump off screen in this feature film.
• David Rasche looks the part of handsome POTUS, a man capable of marrying Kim Bassinger.
• Blair Brown ably plays his National Security Advisor. I loved Blair Brown in her TV star days.
• Gloria Reuben does jump offscreen as a bereaved wife. Gloria Reuben is a star on any size screen.

Film - Good 3.0

The Sentinel is a classic Secret Service film in that it observes the POTUS from the perspective of the Secret Service’s Protective Intelligence Division, i.e., the team tasked with keeping him safe.

It opens with the Reagan assassination attempt, just as In the Line of Fire opened with the Kennedy assassination. It also follows the formula of focusing on an agent scarred by those protective failures.

Edge - Risqué 2.1

I saw the “Modified for TV” version. So what. It was free.

Reality - Glib 1.4

The Secret Service was still legendary back in ‘06, before hooker parties and the White House’s unguarded front-door. Them’s were the days.

Couple of nice reality touches:

• G8 protest, with the anarchists engaging in puerile primal protests.
• Someone actually says “Must ratify the Kyoto Protocol”, in 2006. Fools.

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