Movies, again.

I recently saw The Sentinel. I went in knowing precious little about the movie, which is strange considering I tend to be the first one entrapped by the waves of hype surrounding every new release these days. Firstly, I must say I am not a movie snob. I get that some films are just meant to be fun, action rides. I loved Deep Blue Sea. Saw it twice in theatres in one 4 day stretch (I know, unbelievable.) I liked the Transporter - even though it's a trashy action piece, it did it's job well. The Italian Job, Face Off, The Rock...etc. I could go on but you get my drift. I'm establishing my pedigree.

The Sentinel aims to be a solid thriller. It was probably pitched as "The Fugitive meets In The Line Of Fire". You can see what Michael Douglas liked in the script - he plays a hero who is smarter than the rest, sleeping with someone else's hot wife, is wrongfully accused of a deed early on and spends the rest of the movie trying to prove his innocence. Sound familiar? Yeah the Fugitive. Also, he's an aging secret service agent protecting the President. Sound familiar? That's right. In the Line of Fire. However, the Sentinel is not even worth renting. It's formulaic and trashy. The plot is silly - it compares unfavourably to "24" which is miles ahead of this in terms of tension and plot twists. This movie tries to be the great thriller that we fondly remember from 10 years ago. But I'd sooner rewatch "The Net" - you know,the Sandra-Bullock-is-a-computer-nerd-with-no-life thriller. Want political intrigue? You won't find it here - you're better off renting "The Interpreter".

I'm a big fan of Michael Douglas (except when he's evading me in New York restaurants), so this was a let down. Kiefer Sutherland, bad career move (he plays a tough secret service agent). Way to type-cast yourself. Eva Longoria...she's so amazingly hot, I could care less about her wooden acting.

Before you leave, look at this poster. This is marketing perfection.