Review: The Sentinel

Two fine actors were typecast in this new movie, but we got to see what Eva Longoria can do when she's not showing off her breasts all the time, so it's a tradeoff. The Sentinel follows the formula of the 'wrongfully accused' film, like The Fugitive or The Bourne Identity. This time though, the accused is a top level Secret Service agent who once took a bullet for President Reagan. The aging agent, Michael Douglas, is typecast as a guy who wears a suit in every movie. Seriously, when was the last time he did not appear wearing a tie? I guess it was 1996's Ghost and the Darkness, and then before that, 1984's Romancing the Stone. Those are the only ones. Every other film, he's either a detective, a lawyer, a professor, a businessman, or in one movie, he was the President. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Anyway, Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a veteran agent who plays by his own rules, and incidently is having an affair with the First Lady, Kim Basinger. The secrecy surrounding their torrid affair puts Pete in the spotlight when a plot to kill the President is revealed to involve a mole inside the Secret Service. Leading the investigation is typecasting victim numero two, Kiefer Sutherland as Dave Breckinridge, Pete's former protege who broke off ties when he suspected Pete of conducting and affair with his wife. Whew, enough information for you? Kiefer, known to all as 24's Jack Bauer, plays the American patriot with such aplomb, it may be hard to reconcile the idea that he's a Canuck. And while he plays it very understated most of the time, we still get glimpses of Bauer, when Breckinridge mutters, "Damn it," or yells, "Holster your weapon!" and, "I don't have a visual!" Dave's rookie partner in the investigation is Ms. Longoria, as Jill Marin, trying to look demure, while other agents are trying to look down her blouse.

So, all the major players are known now, so let the mayhem begin. The evidence gathered by Dave and Jill starts to point at Pete, who fails a polygraph, while protecting his relationship with the First Lady. In order to find the real culprit, Pete goes on the run, staying one step ahead of his pursuers. His own investigation leads him to suspect that the assassination attempt will happen at the upcoming G8 Summit in Toronto (Go Canada!). Whenever something happens in Canada in an American movie, I worry. I worry that the stereotypes will be further perpetuated, and that everyone will say "Eh?" and be fighting through snow drifts. I have to say that for the most part, they were very respectful, the only naughty part I caught was a blink and you miss it visual. Luckily, I have a picture (right). There's Pete, in a Toronto fingerprint lab (that looks very state-of-the-art, I'm impressed), looking for clues to a culprit, and there on the lab counter is four bottles of beer. Like the Canadian forensic squad can't function without alcoholic assistance. Oh well, they had to get their jabs in. Soon, our dollar will be stronger, and we shall rule the world.

So, while Dave tries to bring in Pete, Pete is trying to bring in the real assassins. We've seen it before, and we'll see it again. Douglas and Sutherland are totally at ease in their roles, but Longoria probably just took the first halfway decent script that was handed to her. It almost felt as though her part was just sort of scribbled in during production. Her character really doesn't play much of a role, and appeared to be given plot points that would have otherwise been delegated to a variety of secondary figures.

All in all, a pretty decent impostor to the 'wrongfully accused' throne, held by The Fugitive. It was fairly suspenseful, with a modicum of action sequences. Maybe it would have played better during the summer or fall, when we don't get to see Kiefer running around, being all-around superagent Jack Bauer. He plays more effective on TV, when you can see the weariness and resolve on his face, while playing out scenarios. And Michael can still wear a suit better than most, so he's still got a few years. And here's hoping Eva can get that nice romantic comedy she wants, opposite... oh, I don't know, let's say... Matthew McConaughey.

∆∆∆ of 5