Film Reviews

The Sentinel

• Rating:
• Director: Clark Johnson
• Starring: Eva Longoria
• Details: US / 108mins (12A).

When a member of the Secret Service is killed, Special Agent Pete Garrison (Douglas), bodyguard to the First Lady (Basinger), is framed for the murder. Relieved of his duties and threatened with arrest, Garrison (Garrison? Bodyguard? Get it?) flees custody to prove his innocence but is chased by former friend, Agent David Breckinridge (Sutherland) and his rookie partner Jill Marin (Longoria).The Sentinel kicks off interestingly enough, giving us an in-depth insight into the day-to-day trappings of a White House bodyguard; but then, very quickly deteriorates into a poor amalgamation of The Fugitive, In The Line Of Fire and an overlong rerun of The West Wing (and not a good episode, either).One of the thoughts racing through one's mind while watching this is 'just how seriously am I supposed to take this?' and judging by the performances on show, very seriously indeed. It's a rambling, joyless experience with nothing new to offer in plot, character or atmosphere. Douglas ran around a lot in The Game but at least that had pace, suspense and his character was given real depth - something that this script lacks across the board. In fact, we don't know enough about any character to give a crap about them; Basinger has nothing to do in a go-nowhere role, Sutherland thinks he's still on the 24 set and Longoria is only there because her post-TV contract says she has to be in X amount of movies this year. Another lumbering thrill-free thriller then.

Review by Gavin Burke