THE SENTINEL (***)
Michael Douglas gets a lot of flak for playing victims. His most memorable characters seem to be one ever since FATAL ATTRACTION, as he has the unique ability to blend presence with vulnerability. But what most audiences have forgotten is that he can be one of the steeliest of leading men (has there ever been anyone more presidential than he was in THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT?). Let’s face it, when he’s in a suit and a tie, very few actors are as commanding.
In THE SENTINEL, he plays Pete Garrison, a top Secret Service Agent assigned to protect President Ballentine (David Rasche). In the course of his duties, his friend and colleague is murdered, just before he can be informed of a mole in the agency and, lo and behold, a plot to assassinate the president.
As in past offerings where Mr. Douglas’s characters commits grievous mistakes for which he needs to atone for during the rest of the movie, Pete doesn’t disappoint by having an affair with the 1st Lady Sarah Ballentine (Kim Basinger). This liaison gets him into trouble with David Breckinridge (Keifer Sutherland), another lead agent heading the murder investigation. Pete and David, formerly best friends, butt heads every time they meet, due to Pete’s past indiscretion. What’s a Michael Douglas role without infidelity? Make it two this time!
Soon enough, Pete gets suspected of treason. But this doesn’t come about in an obvious manner, as his affair isn’t revealed to the rest of the players until late in the film. How it does get him into hot water is one of the more interesting situational predicaments to come along in recent thrillers, as it is treated with care and skill. The same can be said of Pete’s flights from the agency hunting him down. If there are cracks in the film’s realism, they only become apparent in retrospect.
Stephen Holden of The New York Times calls the events of the film “deeply ridiculous”, and so they are. But if a film can depict such a situation in an expert fashion, it can be as involving as one that’s dead serious, and this is precisely what THE SENTINEL does. With its attention to detail, serious mood, and refusal to kid around, it grabs hold and rarely lets go. Yes, a Secret Service Agent with a history of romantic trysts having an affair with the 1st Lady should have never gotten as far he has, but there you have it: the premise.
Who else but Keifer Sutherland could have played the fastidious Secret Service Investigator? Reprising his signature “24” role, his edgy archetype speaks for himself. Eva Longoria is surprisingly convincing as Jill Martin, an agent who once served under Pete and now under David. Unlike Mr. Sutherland, she sheds her well-known “desperate housewife” persona completely, with a character that is calm, steady, and professional. David Rasche, known more as Clint Eastwood-lite in the SLEDGEHAMMER TV series, is surprisingly presidential. And Kim Basinger, as the 1st Lady, is reason enough for any Secret Service Agent to drop his guard.
Some complain that the movie contains few surprises, but I think director Clark Johnson is hardly concerned with final plot twists that have become so commonplace since THE SIXTH SENSE. As in his previous film S.W.A.T., the key antagonist is easy to figure out. The difference here is that the tension feels palpable, and the stakes tangible. We begin to appreciate Secret Service practices and tactics, and realize the dilemma of trying to save the President while being targeted as the assassin. That’s a tall order for today’s thrillers, and THE SENTINEL does just enough to clinch it.
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at May 8, 2006 07:56 PM