The Sentinel (2006 film)
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| The Sentinel | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Clark Johnson |
| Produced by | Bill Carraro Michael Douglas Marcy Drogin Arnon Milchan George Nolfi |
| Written by | Gerald Petievich (Novel) George Nolfi (screenplay) |
| Starring | Michael Douglas Kiefer Sutherland Eva Longoria Martin Donovan and Kim Basinger |
| Music by | Christophe Beck |
| Cinematography | Gabriel Beristain |
| Editing by | Cindy Mollo |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | April 21, 2006 |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Sentinel is a 2006 thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria, and Kim Basinger. It is based on the novel of the same name by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich.
Tagline: In 141 years, there's never been a traitor in the Secret Service.... Until Now.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
| Actors/Actresses | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Douglas | Secret Service Special Agent Peter Garrison |
| Kiefer Sutherland | Secret Service Special Agent David Breckinridge |
| Eva Longoria | Secret Service Special Agent Jill Marin |
| Kim Basinger | First Lady Sarah Ballentine |
| David Rasche | President John Ballentine |
| Martin Donovan | Secret Service Supervisory Special Agent William Montrose |
| Clark Johnson | Secret Service Special Agent Charles Merriweather |
[edit] Plot
Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) is one of the personal bodyguards for the First Lady of the United States, Sarah Ballentine (Kim Basinger). He also is one of the oldest and most dedicated of the agents. A fellow agent, Charlie Merriweather (played by Clark Johnson), is shot in the chest, and Garrison is emotionally hurt by the incident as he is one of Merriweather's closest friends. He gets wind from a trusted informant that the killing of Merriweather is related to an assassination plot against the President, and reports the assassination plot to his superiors. The information provided by the informant showed that a mole with access to the President's security detail had provided information to the assassins. The U.S. Secret Service Protective Intelligence Division, led by David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) with rookie partner Jill Marin (Eva Longoria), is tasked with investigating the plot, and polygraphs every agent. Meanwhile, the mole finds out about the discussion with the informant, and Garrison's budding 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, Garrison becomes unwittingly framed by the mole and becomes the prime suspect for providing the information to the assassins.
In addition, there is some personal friction between Garrison and Breckinridge because Garrison mentored Breckinridge, and Breckinridge believes that Garrison had an affair with his wife and caused the breakup of their marriage. As it turns out, though, he is really having an affair with the First Lady. Garrison escapes capture by Breckinridge 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 meets up with 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, Canada to attack the president at the G8 summit. He tells Marin of the discovery but finds that any incriminating evidence has been removed.
Meanwhile, the First Lady discloses her involvement in the personal affair to Breckinridge. Breckinridge catches up to Garrison in Toronto and tells Garrison that he believes Garrison's denial. Together, they discover the identity of the assassins and the mole, William Montrose (Martin Donovan), who conveniently was never polygraphed. Unfortunately, Montrose is in charge of directing security at the G8 summit. Breckinridge and Garrison race to the summit, trying to whisk the President away to safety, with Montrose and the assassins, some of whom are dressed as RCMP officers, trying to kill the President and take the First Lady hostage. Ultimately, the team of Marin, Breckinridge, and Garrison are able to successfully save the President, but Garrison is forced to take an early retirement due to the disclosure of the affair with the First Lady.
[edit] Trivia
- The Reagan assassination attempt at the beginning of the movie is a real incident. The agent Michael Douglas replaced is Timothy J. McCarthy. [1]
- Kim Basinger won an Oscar for her role in L.A. Confidential. Plans were made to adapt that film into a TV series, with Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Vincennes; however, the pilot was never picked up.[2]
- The building where the attempted assasination was going to take place is the Toronto City Hall, located in Ontario, Canada
[edit] Box office
- As of July 27, 2006, the film has grossed 63.3 million worldwide and opened third in the United States box office.
- The Sentinel opened in UK cinemas on September 1, 2006
[edit] Critical Reception
The film received some poor reviews, however, some critics praised the film as a "standard" thriller. As Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "At a time when American audiences seem grateful for the opportunity to drool at mindless horror trash, it is encouraging that well-crafted thrillers are still being made about characters who have dialogue, identities, motives, and clean shirts." He gave the film a favorable 3 star rating.
Other reviewers were not so kind: the BBC review "[t]he story is as compelling as watching the ink dry on a superfluous UN treaty"[1]; the Washington Post said that "Sentinel is a medium-dumb thriller that starts out with momentary promise but gets progressively sillier[2]; and the Chicago Tribune said that "[a]fter a solid first third, "The Sentinel" wobbles and lurches and starts unsurprising you with its unsurprises."[3].
On the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the movie received a rating of 6.1 out of 10 by viewers[4].
[edit] DVD
[edit] DVD Releases
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 |
|---|---|---|
| The Sentinel | August 29, 2006 | January 29, 2007 |
[edit] Cast Interviews
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2006/08/29/the_sentinel_2006_review.shtml
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=cityguide/profile&id=1111123&lat=200.0&lon=200.0&displaySearchLocation=&nm=1&categories=Movies
- ^ http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-060421-movies-review-sentinel,0,423444.story
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443632/
