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The Sentinel By David DiCerto Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- Kiefer Sutherland usually has 24 hours to foil threats to national security. In "The Sentinel" (20th Century Fox), he has less than two. Directed by Clark Johnson, the fast-paced political thriller plays like an extended episode of "24," with echoes of "The Fugitive" and "In the Line of Fire." Jumping agencies -- Secret Service instead of CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) -- Sutherland plays David Breckinridge, a more by-the-book version of Jack Bauer in "24", who is investigating the murder of a fellow agent before exposing a plot to kill the president (David Rasche). When a mole in their ranks is suspected, a departmentwide polygraph test steers suspicion to Breckinridge's mentor, Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas), a grizzled veteran who, in the film's fictitious telling, took a bullet for President Ronald Reagan during the 1981 assassination attempt. Incriminating lie detector results only make matters worse for Garrison, who, for good reason, is nervous: Someone is blackmailing him with photos of his ongoing affair with the first lady (Kim Basinger). Convicted of treason, Garrison finds himself on the run to clear his name and uncover the real traitor in time to save the president. Breaking in a rookie partner, Jill Marin (Eva Longoria), Breckinridge takes up the chase, his doggedness fueled by unresolved rage from a falling-out with Garrison, whom he believes slept with his then-wife. Full of twists and turns, "The Sentinel" strikes a nice balance between being a smart mystery and a straight action film, with some dexterously executed chase sequences. Visually gritty and kinetic, the movie is garnished with pulses of surveillance-style images and sound-bites to create a high-tech atmosphere of paranoia, reminiscent of conspiracy classics like "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor." The film ends in conventional fashion, however, with a shootout that could have been assembled from outtakes of "24," though the overall violence is kept relatively low. Douglas brings a paunchy credibility to his role. Sutherland is equally solid, though his gravel-voiced performance seems merely an extension of his small-screen alter ego. Longoria is there as mere decoration and Basinger, radiance undiminished, is underused. Scriptwise, not all the dots connect. Among the "minor" details left unexplained: Why are the bad guys -- one-dimensional villains with requisite foreign accents -- trying to kill the president? And why, if they have an inside man, must they set up Garrison? The assassination plot, of course, is just there to propel the story forward and set up the cat-and-mouse game between Garrison and Breckinridge that proves emotionally engaging as well as entertaining, if occasionally implausible. The film contains recurring action violence, including several shootings, an implied adulterous affair and scattered crude language and profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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