The Sentinel (2006 film)
| The Sentinel | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Clark Johnson |
| Produced by | Michael Douglas Marcy Drogin Arnon Milchan |
| Written by | George Nolfi Gerald Petievich (Novel) |
| Starring | Michael Douglas Kiefer Sutherland Eva Longoria Martin Donovan and Kim Basinger |
| Music by | Christophe Beck |
| Cinematography | Gabriel Beristain |
| Editing by | Cindy Mollo |
| Studio | Regency Enterprises |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | April 21, 2006 |
| Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $60 million |
| Box office | $78,084,827 [1] |
The Sentinel is a 2006 crime thriller film[2] directed by Clark Johnson about a veteran United States Secret Service bodyguard who is suspected as a traitor after an attempted assassination of the president reveals that someone within the Service is providing information to the assassins. The film stars Michael Douglas as the veteran agent, Kiefer Sutherland as his protégé, Eva Longoria as a rookie Secret Service agent, and Kim Basinger in the role of the First Lady. It is based on the novel of the same name by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich, the author of the book To Live and Die In L.A., also made into a film. It was filmed in Washington, D.C. and in the Canadian town of Kleinburg, Ontario.
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[edit] Plot
Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) is a Secret Service agent and one of the personal bodyguards for the First Lady of the United States Sarah Ballentine (Kim Basinger), with whom he is having an affair. He is one of the oldest and most experienced agents, having been involved in saving Ronald Reagan's life during the Reagan assassination attempt. A fellow agent and close friend, Charlie Merriweather (Clark Johnson), is later assassinated in front of his home. He gets word from a trusted informant that the killing of Merriweather is related to an assassination plot against the President. The information provided by the informant revealed that a mole with access to the President's security detail had provided information to the assassins. The Secret Service Protective Intelligence Division, led by Garrison's former protégé and ex-friend David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) with rookie partner Jill Marin (Eva Longoria), is tasked with investigating the plot, which begins with polygraphs for every agent. Meanwhile, the mole discovers the discussion with the informant and Garrison's affair with the First Lady, and attempts to blackmail him by luring him to a coffee shop known to be a meeting point for Colombian gangs. Along with failing the polygraph test (for lying about the affair), Garrison becomes unwittingly framed by the mole and becomes the prime suspect for providing the information to the assassins.
When Breckinridge confronts Garrison at his home and begins to interrogate him about his dealings with the plot, the source of the two's estrangement comes to light: Garrison supposedly had an affair with Breckinridge’s wife and caused the breakup of their marriage, which he denies. Garrison escapes capture and conducts an independent investigation of the assassination plot, while making brief contact with the First Lady to deny his involvement. He tries to contact the informant who gave him the tip, but finds that he has been killed. He briefly encounters Breckinridge while finding the informant, but Breckinridge refuses to kill him, despite giving other agents "shoot to kill" orders. Using his contacts with sympathetic agents and family members, he stumbles onto an apartment rented by one of the assassins, and finds information that the assassins are headed to Toronto to attack the president at the G8 summit. He tells Jill Marin of the discovery as he leaves but later finds that any incriminating evidence has been removed before she can arrive.
Meanwhile, the First Lady discloses her affair with Garrison to Breckinridge, who catches up to Garrison in Toronto and tells him that he believes that Garrison is innocent. Together, they discover the identity of the assassins and the mole, senior agent William Montrose (Martin Donovan), who was never polygraphed. Montrose is in charge of directing security at the G8 summit. The leader of the assassins, The Handler (Ritchie Coster), tells Montrose to give him the President. Montrose attempts to refuse to uphold his promise to the assassins, not caring about the repercussions of his actions and wanting out of the plot. The Handler then forces Montrose to continue to cooperate, threatening the lives of the agent's wife and two daughters should he back out while showing a photo of each of them. Emotionally torn by the decision he must make, Montrose is instructed by The Handler to lead the President to the summit while jamming the communication radios, and they shall handle the rest.
On the night of the President's speech, Breckinridge and Garrison race to the summit, trying to whisk the President away to safety, with the assassins, dressed as RCMP ERT operators, killing several agents and trying to kill the President. On the way up to the summit, Montrose reveals he is the mole to the President while warning him of what is going on, in spite of the threats against his family. He is then killed by one of the assassins in the stairwell. Garrison, Breckinridge and Marin then join together and kill the remaining disguised assassins while safely bringing the President and First Lady up to the summit to be evacuated. At the top, The Handler himself comes forward dressed as an RCMP officer, all of his accomplices dead, to personally kill the President and First Lady. He grabs Sarah Ballentine hostage and aims his pistol to shoot the President as he is guided to an evacuation vehicle, but before he can kill anyone, Garrison realizes who the assassin leader is and shoots him dead.
In spite of the events, Garrison is forced to take an early retirement due to the disclosure of the affair with the First Lady, who looks on sadly from her window as Garrison leaves the White House. He does however make peace with Breckinridge who finally realizes that he never slept with his wife. He also tells Garrison that he is meeting her later on to talk over things.
[edit] Cast
- Michael Douglas ... Pete Garrison
- Kiefer Sutherland ... David Breckinridge
- Eva Longoria ... Jill Marin
- Kim Basinger ... First Lady Sarah Ballentine
- Martin Donovan ... William Montrose
- Ritchie Coster ... The Handler
- David Rasche ... President Ballentine
- Blair Brown ... National Security Advisor
- Kristin Lehman ... Cindy Breckinridge
- Raynor Scheine ... Walter Xavier
- Chuck Shamata ... Director Overbrook
- Paul Calderón ... Deputy Director Cortes
- Clark Johnson ... Charlie Merriweather
- Raoul Bhaneja ... Aziz Hassad
- Yanna McIntosh ... Teddy Vargas
- Joshua Peace ... Agent Davies
- Simon Reynolds ... Tom DiPaola
- Geza Kovacs ... Agent Turzanski
- Jasmin Geljo ... Assassin
- Danny A. Gonzales ... Hugo Ortega
- Jude Coffey ... Field Agent Welke
[edit] Critical reception
The film received generally poor reviews, scoring 34% on Rotten Tomatoes.[3] The BBC review described it being "as compelling as watching the ink dry on a superfluous UN treaty". Some reviewers such as the Los Angeles Times, enjoyed the film.[4]
[edit] DVD
[edit] DVD releases
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 |
|---|---|---|
| The Sentinel | August 29, 2006 | January 29, 2007 |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sentinel.htm
- ^ http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/329889/The-Sentinel/overview
- ^ The Sentinel Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ 'The Sentinel' - MOVIE REVIEW - Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com
[edit] External links
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