‘Sentinel’ actors trump script
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, April 20, 2006
Michael Douglas hops back into the movie game in “The Sentinel,” with a bread-and-butter role that should provide respite from his duties as Mr. Zeta-Jones and part-time U.N. ambassador.
Not unlike the Clint Eastwood vehicle “In the Line of Fire,” “The Sentinel” makes Douglas a veteran Secret Service agent haunted by a past presidential shooting: He took a bullet on the day Ronald Reagan was shot.
Maybe he’s not all that haunted, but his judgment is wobbly: Assigned to guard the first lady (Kim Basinger), he’s begun an affair with her.
Meanwhile, an informant tips him to a plot against the president (David Rasche). A top Secret Service investigator (Kiefer Sutherland) with a gripe against Douglas is on the case, but he keeps coming back to Douglas as a suspect.
The movie gives Sutherland a sidekick in the petite form of Eva Longoria, star of “Desperate Housewives.” Her role does not appear to exist for any pressing reason, although she wears Secret Service pantsuits very well.
Some heads-up direction by Clark Johnson (“S.W.A.T.”) and the professionalism of Douglas and Sutherland keep “The Sentinel” moving along rather nicely. It’s a welcome change, after four seasons of bellowing through “24,” that Sutherland can get through a movie without going overboard (and without slaughtering too many innocent bystanders).
| Enjoyable: A bread-and-butter role for Michael Douglas as a Secret Service agent suspected of treason – who also happens to be romancing the first lady (Kim Basinger). The script wobbles, but the professionalism of Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland helps make this one enjoyable.
Rated: PG-13 rating is for violence Now showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett 9, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Mountlake, Stanwood, Meridian, Metro, Oak Tree, Woodinville, Cascade Mall |
George Nolfi’s screenplay has some puzzlers along the way. I’m still not sure why the bad guys had to frame the Douglas character in order to execute their plan, but it makes dramatic sense when the hero of the movie is also a suspect.
Basinger looks as glassy as ever. Of the supporting performers, only the squirrelly Raynor Scheine makes an impression, with an agitated turn as the informer.
Despite the holes, I found myself agreeably involved in this movie. The West Wing setting helps, and there are a few gripping moments, including a startling scene involving the presidential helicopter.
As for Douglas (who also produced this film), he has always understood that his value as an actor lies in messed-up characters (“Fatal Attraction,” “Basic Instinct”), not good guys. There’s something about his persona that smacks of smugness, and you want to see him taken down a peg. “The Sentinel” does a bit of that, though perhaps not enough.
Kiefer Sutherland (left) and Michael Douglas star in “The Sentinel.”
