Wonderful character development!

Great Film overall

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The Sentinal definitely is entertaining. The movie also features strong performances by the lead actors. Michael Douglas, Kim Basinger, Eva Longoria, and Kiefer Sutherland all give good performances in their roles. The movie does have an interesting plot summary, and has good well done action scenes to fill out the plot. The action isn't like the shaky camera stuff, it's pretty clean cut scenes. I like the connections between some of the characters. Like Douglas and Basinger's relationship, yes it was adulterous, which is Of course wrong, but their relationship seems true and very believable in the film. Eva longoria's character didn't really have much of a connection with anyone, but I thought she did well with just herself. Sutherland is pretty good too, although I have seen better from him in other films. The movie isn't gonna win any academy awards or golden globes, but it certainly isn't a bad film at all. 7/10 for The Sentinal.

Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) is a secret service agent assigned to protect the First Lady. David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) is a former protégé investigating an assassination of an agent. Jill Marin (Eva Longoria) is the rookie working under Breckinridge. Garrison receives intel of a plot to assassinate the President.In White House thrillers these days, the White House usually gets blown up. I'm glad this isn't that kind of a movie. This is a thriller of characters not theatrical explosions. Just to extend the point, the climax happens in Toronto. Seriously, flashy Toronto...After the twist, the movie does have some believability problems. The movie turns into an unlikely 'The Fugitive'. For a thriller attempting to be more cerebral, this is a little speed bump for them.

Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) was the American secret service agent who once saved the life of president Ronald Reagan. He is now responsible for the security of the current American president Ballentine (David Rasche) and is also having an affair with first lady Sarah Ballentine, convincingly played by Kim Basinger.His informer Walter Xavier (Raynor Scheine) discloses that there is a traitor in the secret service and a plot to kill the president. Garrison's former friend but now competitor David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) accompanied by Jill Marin (Eva Longoria), launch an investigation. All the agents are submitted to a polygraph test, which is a bit inconvenient for Garrison, who is found to be untruthful because he is covering up his affair, and he is released from duties under suspicion that he is the traitor. He then follows the well worn path of doing his own investigations while trying to evade his former colleagues. Meanwhile, who is the real mole? So the plot is not bad, acting first rate, sound good, lighting good, camera-work a bit busy. I don't think there's a serious weak point in this film. I am irritated by the lead villain always having to be played by a British actor, but at least it provides them with work and here it's Ritchie Coaster who gets the job. There are plenty of worse films than this around, and it's great to see such excellent performances from the lead actors. I hadn't expected to like this as much as I did. Ultimately it's not Hitchcock, or even The Fugitive, but it's not far off.

I personally love films like this. As a young aspiring filmmaker, movies such as The Sentinel provide me with two things. 1.) An example of how NOT to make a film. 2.) Hope for my own career. If writing as poor as this gets the studio green light, well, I believe I have a chance.PROS Now, first let me address the strong points of the film.The A-list actors of course! - With names such as Michael Douglass, Keifer Sutherland, and Eva Longoria, on the DVD case we expect a strong performance. And for the most part, they deliver.The audio. - The score could have been better, but every gunshot sounds great, every tire screech is in the right place. There isn't much to be said about the audio as this is an important, but thankless part of a movie. That considered, the sound design was fine.The concept. - What bothers me the most about The Sentinel is that it potentially COULD HAVE been a good film. At it's core, the concept is excellent. A mole within the secret service? An assassination attempt on the President? A love affair with dire consequences? Surely an amazing cinematic experience could come from such a film, right? WRONG.CONS Now for the weak points. And there are several.Directing. - One name we don't see on the front of the box is Clark Johnson: the film's director. Why? Because he's no Ridley Scott that's why. The filmmaking just didn't draw me into the story. It was the same boring action sequences we've seen since childhood. And the camera shots failed to depict the gravity and urgency of the situations in the story. The pacing was S...L...O...W. "Nonstop action around every turn"? Please. This film took 30 min to get past the exposition and good look finding any interest in the climax because at that point you've probably fallen asleep already. Furthermore, I believe the actors should have been granted more creative freedom. I want to see some improv from talent such as Douglas and Sutherland! Every word that left their mouths felt scripted. Shame.Writing. - This is perhaps the most abhorrent part of the whole film in my opinion. Let me be the first to say that plot holes are in every film. That realism is not always considered for the sake of dramatic impact. Nobody wants to see the hero get killed so of course he is often triumphant. BUT this is a thriller. This is a genre and subject matter that isn't fairy tale. I cannot be thrilled by a film that is so unrealistic. Here's just a few of the major plot holes/realism issues that I noticed. *SPOILERS*1.) A secret service agent is executed. And what happens? They look at the crime scene for a day and then leave? I'd expect a much more thorough investigation post 911. 2.) After her husband was killed on the front porch, the wife of said agent sticks around in the house alone? Come on. 3.) If Garrison is so smart and can evade the entire Untied States after being exposed as a threat to the President, why does he keep a cell phone? EVERY cell phone has a GPS signal in it that the authorities can use to track it. 4.) If Garrison is so smart, why leave all the evidence of the REAL assassins where they can get to it and destroy it? At the very least, why not put the camera on that blackberry to use. 5.) You think the Presidential helicopter can be taken down with a lousy Surface to Air Missle (SAM)? That helicopter likely could survive a nuclear strike. 6.) Polygraph tests are given under pressure. I've taken one. You don't get to sit calmly in a room and answer questions. The POINT is to stress you so that you're nervous and you can't control the results. 7.) One old agent is able to disarm and evade a team of younger agents? Right. There's a reason they switch actors for James Bond every few years.I haven't even finished with the writing. Character development. So we know from the start that our protagonist Garrison isn't the bad guy. So why do we not hear anything from the real bad guy until 10 minuets from the resolution? You don't even have to reveal who the mole is or his sponsors. Leave something to the imagination but at least remind us that there's more going on that Garrison trying to clear his name.And what lame cliché bad guys... they spend years trying to infiltrate the Secret Service and the best they can do is send a couple of guys with guns to whack the President? Oh yeah, and Russians is cilche as well. Especially since they've been friendly with the US since 2002.BOTTOM LINE This movie sucks. Eva Longoria is hot. THE END.