The Sentinel

  • Review Date: August 27, 2006
  • PG-13
  • Genre: Thriller
  • 2006
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Decent thriller with crisp performances. Teens OK.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Kids say

Not yet rated

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.

  • The villains outnumber the heroes, but heroes are mostly stalwart (save for the adulterers).
  • Shootings (body appears from overhead, blood on sidewalk beneath; another appears with blood on chest), chasing/running, knifing, explosions (Marine One, Presidential helicopter, shot down by missile); major, extended shootout at end, with President trapped in hotel stairwell and multiple bodies dropped.
  • A woman's bottom appears in close-up as she walks; a brief, passionate sex scene, with woman's blouse unbuttoned and kissing/embracing; discussion of illicit affair between First Lady and her Secret Service protector.
  • Minor language ("hell"), obscene finger gesture.
  • Starbucks, brand-stores in mall (Subway, Seattle's Best, Radio Shack).
  • Ashtray filled with cigarette butts; question when an informant demands a million dollars: "What are you smoking?!" First Lady drinks whiskey.

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.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

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?


This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Parent of 15 year old
August 1, 2009
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
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!!!!

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
July 28, 2010
 
This was a really good movie. Michael Douglas does a pretty good job. It was kinda violent though. 10+

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 12, 2009
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
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+

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
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

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
About our rating system
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.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you see The Sentinel?


Already seen it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it