The Sentinel (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Clark Johnson (S.W.A.T.)
	Actors: Michael Douglas (The Game, Romancing the Stone, Ant Man), Kiefer Sutherland (Flatliners, 24 TV-series), Kim Basinger (9 1/2 weeks), Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 24.05.2017, VOD, 32" TV screen
Synopsis: A Secret Service agent (Douglas) is framed as the mole in an assassination attempt on the President. He must clear his name and foil another assassination attempt while on the run from a Secret Service Protective Intelligence Division agent (Sutherland).
Review: When choosing this movie I was expecting something like In the Line of Fire or Absolute Power. The story of an aging Secret Services special agent and of a conspiracy to kill the president does sound similar, but The Sentinel is not at the level of the 90's classics with Clint Eastwood. It is a movie formatted to Michael Douglas in the leading role, close to the character played by Kim Basinger (another 90's icon) and tracked down by the young Keifer Sutherland, a bit stuck in those roles of nervous cop/agent/president (like in the 24 or Designated Survivor TV-series). Eva Longoria is there apparently only for gender balance. The relationship between the characters is in fact not badly written, almost surprising for a movie of the 2000's, and again a reminiscence of Douglas' earlier career. The conclusion of the movie and the resolution of the conflicts between the characters are a bit predictable and exaggerated at the same time, very far from the realistic one-on-one psychological and physical duel at the end of In the Line of Fire. A nice movie to watch if you are nostalgic of the 90's.
Rating: 5 /10