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The Sentinel [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Missable
Review date: 2006-10-18 Rating: 4 out of 10
The cast of this film is pretty impressive. However this film does not live up to these expectations. The general plot is a descent one. An inside mole of the secret service is plotting to assasinate the preseident. However the way it evolves is quite disapointing. This film never really holds you that much. The sub plot of Douglas' affair with the first lady is there to add to the tension but ultimately is simply an unwelcome distraction to the main plot. The plot also appears to slow down for a bit and then take a giant leap in the story without giving the viewer the chance to catch up. This just makes the film even less thrilling. Never once during the film did i feel like i could not interupt it. The ending is also unsatisfactory. Although the ultimate ending is pretty much what you would expect, the way it comes about is thouroughly disapointing. There is no real explenation as to who the bad guys actually are and why they want to kill the president. There is neither an explanation as to why the traitor did what he did or who he had been linked to the bad guys.
The acting is not particularly brilliant either. Douglas' performance is at best ok. There appears to be no real urgency to his situation and the character is not all that believable. Bassinger in bland and wodden as the first lady and its just aswell that her character is relegated to the sidelines. Longoria on the other hand is, only slightly, better. I believe that they could have used her a bit more but decided against it due to her part in Desperate Housewives. Sutherlands performance is slightly better but it cas one critical flaw. It is almost identical to Jack Bauer (the main character from the series 24). Getting people to separate the two characters was going to be a hard enough task on its own. The director in this film either made a bad choice or failed to create any credible differences between this character and Jack Bauer. At times i felt like i was watching 24.
And in here is another fault with this film. The whole story is almost as if it was an 24 series. There are too many similarities. A plot to assasinate the president. An inside agent in on the plot. Another agent who is framed. A first lady with secrets of her own. It is almost a carbon copy. The place where this film fails is that whereas 24 kept you on the edge of your seat, this film can't even keep you from doing the ironing. It simply lacks the pace!!!
This film is not one that I would reccomend unless there is nothing else to watch. Don't get me wrong it is not a total stinker. You can watch it easily without thinking you have completely waisted your evening. Just don't expect too much cos you will be disapointed.
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Reviews
An American obsession os menacing us.
Review date: 2006-10-15 Rating: 8 out of 10
An unimaginable film that does not even give any logical explanation to anything happening on the screen. They revive the KGB to go back to the good old cold war model, but move them to Kazakhstan. Is it because the Kazakhs have built a pipeline to sell their oil to China instead of building a pipeline across Afghanistan and Iran and Irak to sell their oil to the US ? The president ot the USA is the most wanted president in the world at least by would-be terrorists and assassins. It is true that a fair number of US presidents have been assassinated or assaulted. But hasn't it always been by Americans, and even in this case it is said to be impossible without an American mole inside the secret services ? Forget it, man, the second cold war has just been declared by Hollywood. Of course the US president gets out of it unscathed. But the film becomes ridiculous when it states a sexual affair between the oldest of the security agents and the First Lady. Both ridiculous and absurd, including pictures of the sexual meeting between the two inside the First Lady's bedroom. That is really more than a mole. Why are our western countries suddenly so obsessed by heads of states and political fiction (three films and one TV series that I know of over the last three months, and I am not in the know of everything) ? Hollywood, and other western producers, would be very much inspired if they tried to take some distance from their political object if not objective. It sounds and smells too much like propaganda.
[...]
Brilliant movie
Review date: 2006-10-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is a great movie that has it all - plenty of action, intrigue, bit of romance, twist in the tale. The stunning Kim Basinger makes a surprisingly believeable First Lady and Michael Douglas was much more watchable than I anticipated he'd be. Don't take it too seriously and compare it with other president assassin type movies and you'll enjoy it.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Kim Basinger
Raynor Scheine
David Rasche
Blair Brown
Paul Calderon
Creators:
Kim Basinger (Primary Contributor)
Blair Brown (Primary Contributor)
Gabriel Beristain (Cinematographer)
Christophe Beck (Composer)
Director(s):
Recording label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
EAN: 0024543266020
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2006-08-29
Universal product code (UPC): 024543266020
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 108 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2006-04-21
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Dubbed)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)