The Sentinel (2006)

A Secret Service agent 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.

Director:

Clark Johnson

Writers:

George Nolfi (screenplay), Gerald Petievich (novel)

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Pete Garrison
Kiefer Sutherland	...	David Breckinridge
Eva Longoria	...	Jill Marin
Martin Donovan	...	William Montrose
Ritchie Coster	...	The Handler
Kim Basinger	...	1st Lady Sarah Ballentine
Blair Brown	...	National Security Advisor
David Rasche	...	President Ballentine
Kristin Lehman	...	Cindy Breckinridge
Raynor Scheine	...	Walter Xavier
Chuck Shamata	...	Director Overbrook
Paul Calderon	...	Deputy Director Cortes
Clark Johnson	...	Charlie Merriweather (as Clarque Johnson)
Raoul Bhaneja	...	Aziz Hassad
Yanna McIntosh	...	Teddy Vargas

Storyline

A man who has devoted himself to serving the leader of the free world is accused of plotting against him in this thriller. Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) is a veteran Secret Service agent who has had a long and distinguished career helping protect the president of the United States. David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) is a fellow Secret Service agent who learned most of what he knows from Garrison and holds him in great respect. When intelligence data suggests that there is a mole within the Secret Service who is part of a plot to assassinate President Ballentine (David Rasche), Garrison launches an investigation to ferret out the rogue agent, and asks Breckinridge to go over the evidence with a fine-toothed comb. Breckinridge is shocked when the clues point to Garrison as the traitor within the Secret Service, but his sense of duty compels him to see that his former mentor is placed under arrest. Garrison eludes his captors and struggles to prove his innocence while tracking down...

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Plot Keywords:

cell phone trace | shooting a woman | cell phone | scene of the crime | frame up | 

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Taglines:

In 141 years, there's never been a traitor in the Secret Service.... Until Now.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense action violence and a scene of sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

El centinela

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,367,854, 23 April 2006

Gross USA:

$36,280,697

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,920,346

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, Epsilon Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 107 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Examining a world rife with surveillance, the film-makers provide a feeling of watching and of being watched, and of feeling that one is fully inside the world of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Cinematographer Gabriel Beristain said: "We thought it would be interesting to see our film from the point of view of the audience. The world we depict is not simple. The characters become paranoid and suspicious, even more aware of the people around them. The world around our characters is collapsing. It's chaotic."

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Goofs

At 1:19:30, Sarah (the President's wife) gets a call on her cellphone. the caller ID says the call is from Pete Garrison. This is impossible as Pete does not have his cellphone, but is using the phone he lifted off another agent.

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Quotes

Jill Marin: [from trailer] A lot of people are looking for you.
Pete Garrison: I'm innocent dammit!

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Connections

Featured in La noche de...: La sombra de la sospecha (2017)

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Soundtracks

I Got Peace Like a River
Traditional

User Reviews

Exciting and Intelligent... Most of the Time

There was some hesitation from my part about what this movie had to offer. For starters, the casting didn't seem right. Kiefer Sutherland had already done very well in "24" and the preview didn't seem to offer anything challenging to him or the audience. Eva Longoria appeared out of place, and the rest didn't seem very interesting.

When the film finally ended, I was not completely displeased for I had seen a decent thriller that could have been much better, had the responsible parties taken a little more care to watch for the narrative gaps and given a little more care to character development. We have seen threats of this type before, and that made the main conflict much more challenging to the writers. As an audience, we don't want to sit through the same old story again. We want to see something different, be thrilled and entertained.

There is nothing wrong with the casting. From Kim Basinger's delicious first lady. She carries herself with enough grace and sex appeal to make the part memorable. Michael Douglas has been and done that before. Unfortunately, the president is much of a non entity to even care about his fate. Sutherland rehashes his "24" tough guy approach with enough power to make it big enough for the big screen, and Eva does a passable job, as the newcomer.

Don't expect as many twists and fireworks as some of the established classics ("North by Northwest" and "The Fugitive" come to mind). Leave your expectations outside and enjoy the ride for whatever it might be. It's o.k.