Wednesday, January 31, 2007

The Sentinel (2006)

Starring Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland

The Sentinel is a fun, fast-paced ride that combines a police procedural and thriller. The movie begins by giving us an up-close and personal feeling for the 24-hour 7-days-a-week job of the Secret Service in protecting the President and his family. But then the movie takes a thriller turn, featuring with a break-neck pace, thin plot, and lots of action to take the place of thinking.

There appears to be a mole in the Secret Service, and Douglas plays an agent who is the prime suspect. He runs away to try to clear his name, but gets drawn in to solving the central mystery and saving the president. Kiefer Sutherland was an old friend of Douglas’s; that is, until Douglas started a romance with Sutherland’s wife. Now he’s relentlessly tracking Douglas down. Plus, Douglas is having an affair with a different woman now—the President’s wife.

Douglas is fun and convincing in this role, and Sutherland makes a great opponent for him. Their confrontation scenes crackle with emotion and anger. It’s great to see Sutherland in a non-24 role. He brings the same intensity and authority to this character.

Due to violence, I wouldn’t recommend this movie for younger children. Otherwise, it’s a thrilling mélange of action and violence as the central mystery is slowly unraveled.

No comments: