 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Sentinel
- Review Date: August 27, 2006
- PG-13
- Genre: Thriller
- 2006
Common Sense Media says
Decent thriller with crisp performances. Teens OK.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie includes several high-octane action sequences, with multiple murders by shooting, knifing, and explosion. The violence can be aggressive and several bodies appear bloodied (including a man with his throat cut). Two characters engage in an adulterous affair, revealed when a third party takes high-tech surveillance photos. Some mild sexual references and language.
What's the story?
In THE SENTINEL, Secret Service agent Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) still has nightmares about taking a bullet for President Reagan. Assigned to protect the First Lady, Sarah (Kim Basinger) (with whom he is having an affair), Pete is stunned when a longtime friend (played by director Clark Johnson) is murdered on his front step. And he gets worried when a plot to assassinate the president emerges and he becomes the prime suspect. David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland), who heads the Protective Intelligence Division of the Secret Service, is assigned to investigate the agent's murder, helped by newbie agent Jill Marin (Eva Longoria).
Is it any good?
The investigation leads to some predictable places, a set of would-be assassins with thick and also shifting Russian accents (they claim to be ex-KGB and threaten their mole's family with horrific violence), as well as several confrontations between David and Pete (including a chase scene on a ship and a verbal argument in Pete's apartment. Clark Johnson's direction is sharp, maintaining a quick-enough pace and smart camerawork, almost making you forget the preposterousness of the plot and easy-to-tell "real traitor." Shootouts and car chases make good use of DC locations and a G8 gathering in Toronto, though Pete's drive from Camp David into downtown Washington appears to take mere minutes -- impossible unless he's been zapped by a Star Trekian transporter.
The MacGyverish Pete out-gizmos his fellow agents with a few precise purchases from Radio Shack, and takes out a series of accented thugs to boot. More distractingly, his contest with Breckinridge never quite gels, as they so obviously admire one another, even with girls (the First Lady and the ex-wife) providing requisite hetero cover. The movie is quite pleased with its focus on boys' business, rendering it in terms that are at once clever, silly, and slick.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the violence that is so common in action movies. Is it realistic? Is it necessary to engage or thrill the audience?
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AGE
Awesome Action Thriller...On Par With THE FUGITIVE...
This is an awesome movie. Jam packed with action, thrills, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, this is one of the finest action thrillers I've seen. Michael Douglas plays a Secret Service agent falsely accused of plotting to assassinate the President. So, he's left trying to find the truth while evading his own men. Violence is the biggest issue in the movie. People are shot countless times, and most gunshots are fatal. Several dead bodies are seen, some with accompanying pools of blood. Several explosions as well. Language consists of several "d**n"s, "h**l"s, and some "s**t"s. Sex is minor: there is one very brief, non-graphic scene of passion between the First Lady and the Douglas character; their affair is a major plot point, resulting in Douglas's blackmail.
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AGE
It's like the show 24, only in movie format
if you like the show 24, you will definately like this movie. it's really fast paced and exciting, and that probably suprises some people coming from a 15 year old girl talking about an action movie...but I really liked it, and if you like quick, action packed, CIA/FBI kinda movies, this is a must see!!!!
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AGE
This was a really good movie. Michael Douglas does a pretty good job. It was kinda violent though. 10+
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AGE
Very suspensful and fun.
this movie contains multiple shootings deaths. Not a lot of blood but lots of violence. This movie is very action packed and I recommend it to everyone 12+
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AGE
It's 24 gone all wrong
This film has a great cast. Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, and more compose an all star ensemble for the movie. What the movie lacks is a descent script and interesting characters. It’s a classic case of putting great actors in awful roles. The trailer promised interesting CIA tricks and hot chases. This movie delivers neither of those. What we get is a shoddy framing story that rambles and ends flat. You can see the ending coming from a mile away, which would be okay if you cared in the slightest about any of the characters. The movie contains bloodless violence and a scene of sensuality. Would I stop kids from seeing it, yes, but not because of the violence, because the film is god awful.
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| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Director: | Clark Johnson |
| Cast: | Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger, Michael Douglas |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Run time: | 108 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | April 21, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | August 29, 2006 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | some intense action violence and a scene of sensuality |
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