Michael Douglas and Eva Longoria were badly miscast in this, although in the latter case I can give her the benefit of the doubt. The problem could as easily been with the script. Kiefer Sutherland plays second fiddle to Douglas, basically channeling Jack Bauer from an alternate universe. Kim Basinger is... no longer suited to this kind of role. I formed that opinion watching "Cellular", and solidified it here. I nearly gagged when I thought that she and Michael Douglas were going to have 'old people sex' in some graphic form. This marks the only time I have EVER checked the back of a DVD box, seen "PG-13" and said "Thank God!" As to the fundamentals, everything is bland and ambiguous. Acting from the rest of the cast is adequate. Dialogue is unimpressive.
Technical accuracy suffers badly. For instance, it is said in the movie that Secret Service Agents are "trained to draw and unsafety their weapons in one movement". This is a load of crap. Secret Service Agents typically use Sig-Sauer automatics (I believe the firearm in question is a P-239). No Sig model I know of features an actual "safety" button. Instead, there is a de-cocking lever that drops the hammer forward without firing a round, thereby switching from single-action (hammer back, about a 2 pound trigger pull) to double-action (hammer forward, about a 10 pound trigger pull). At any time the weapon, if loaded, may be fired by depressing the trigger. This is very basic, and would have been obvious if anyone involved with the script had bothered to look at the gun they were describing. I can't help but wonder what actual Agents think of this film. Are they disgusted, amused, indifferent? Or are they immensely pleased with a successfully waged disinformation campaign designed to radically misinform the populace of their capabilities and procedures? Hmm...
Finally, it is never adequately explained WHY the former soviet republic of Whateveristan (I don't remember the name because they made it up) wanted to assassinate the president. The Berlin Wall came down 15 years ago. The KGB is defunct, and its successor agency is vainly trying to control the Russian Mafia fiefdom that part of the world has become. Even on the off chance that there was a sleeper in the Secret Service, he probably would have quietly forgotten his orders when the government that issued them went belly-up, and reactivation at that point really can't be assumed. It's sad when they can't even conjure up a plot that's pertinent to world events.
Decent action and some name recognition can't save this big-budget B-movie. If you want to see a similarly themed movie (Secret Service, presidential assassination attempt), watch "In the Line of Fire". It's a lot better.
Technical accuracy suffers badly. For instance, it is said in the movie that Secret Service Agents are "trained to draw and unsafety their weapons in one movement". This is a load of crap. Secret Service Agents typically use Sig-Sauer automatics (I believe the firearm in question is a P-239). No Sig model I know of features an actual "safety" button. Instead, there is a de-cocking lever that drops the hammer forward without firing a round, thereby switching from single-action (hammer back, about a 2 pound trigger pull) to double-action (hammer forward, about a 10 pound trigger pull). At any time the weapon, if loaded, may be fired by depressing the trigger. This is very basic, and would have been obvious if anyone involved with the script had bothered to look at the gun they were describing. I can't help but wonder what actual Agents think of this film. Are they disgusted, amused, indifferent? Or are they immensely pleased with a successfully waged disinformation campaign designed to radically misinform the populace of their capabilities and procedures? Hmm...
Finally, it is never adequately explained WHY the former soviet republic of Whateveristan (I don't remember the name because they made it up) wanted to assassinate the president. The Berlin Wall came down 15 years ago. The KGB is defunct, and its successor agency is vainly trying to control the Russian Mafia fiefdom that part of the world has become. Even on the off chance that there was a sleeper in the Secret Service, he probably would have quietly forgotten his orders when the government that issued them went belly-up, and reactivation at that point really can't be assumed. It's sad when they can't even conjure up a plot that's pertinent to world events.
Decent action and some name recognition can't save this big-budget B-movie. If you want to see a similarly themed movie (Secret Service, presidential assassination attempt), watch "In the Line of Fire". It's a lot better.