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Sentinel, The
Michael Douglas takes a leaf out of Clint Eastwood's book in this thriller about a veteran Secret Service agent caught up in a plot to assassinate the US president
After three years of playing golf, suing 'Hello!' and changing his daughter's nappies, it seemed as if Michael Douglas had had his fill of big-screen heroics. After turning up as Kate Hudson's character's dad in You, Me And Dupree, however, his late-career comeback continues in a political thriller that suggests he has finally come to terms with his advancing years. Unfortunately, the star's joints aren't the only thing creaking in Clark Johnson's film, which - thanks to Kiefer Sutherland's presence as a dogged federal agent and a plot that takes an absolute age to get going - comes across as a superannuated version of '24'. Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a veteran Secret Service agent who once took a bullet in the chest for Ronald Reagan but who now works on the First Lady's detail. And unbeknownst to the president (Rasche), Garrison and the big man's other half (Basinger) have been having an affair - a profound lapse of judgment that could have serious ramifications as election year approaches. Garrison, though, has other problems. No sooner has he stumbled upon a plot to kill the president than he becomes suspected of being involved, forcing him to go on the lam as he attempts to clear his name. Enter Sutherland's David Breckinridge, head of the Protective Intelligence Division, and his new recruit Jill Marin (Longoria), both of whom have personal reasons for wanting to track their erstwhile mentor down. Freely pilfering ideas and scenes from The Fugitive, No Way Out and In The Line Of Fire, The Sentinel can't help but feel like second-hand goods. What really scuppers Johnson's S.W.A.T. follow-up, however, is its fatal lack of energy, coupled with such sloppy attention to plausibility you can only feel insulted. Douglas glides through it with his usual charisma and professionalism, but even he can't energise a story where you can see every twist and reversal coming from a mile off. Jack Bauer, you think, would have this conspiracy sewn up in a couple of episodes - and judging by Sutherland's testy, distracted demeanour, you sense that he knows it. Verdict After a promising beginning, this tired and derivative vehicle for an over-the-hill star quickly collapses under the weight of its own strained logic |
