Take the show 24, and it's leading actor Kiefer Sutherland, throw in a conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States, use the typical Hollywood action formula, add a handful of predicable moments and a few inconsistencies, and make it close to 2 hours long. The result would be The Sentinal.
There is a leak in the Secret Service and career agent Pete Garrison (Douglas) is framed for treason by would-be presidential assassins, so he must get off the grid to find the real culprits, before his former best friend David Breckinridge (Sutherland) takes him down. Apparently the two had a falling out when Breckinridge accused Garrison of having an affair with his wife, so it becomes more of a personal vendetta for Breckinridge instead of just a professional one. By the way, Garrison is also sleeping with the First Lady, that adds a little flavour to the storyline, demonstrating the ineptitude of the President, since it happens right under his nose.
It was good to see Douglas back in action after a little hiatus, and he played the role convincingly, but why he chose this film for a comeback is a complete mystery. Kiefer Sutherland probably didn't need to research his role since it is the exact same character in 24. And really any fine babe with a semblance of acting skills can play the part of Eva Longoria's character. If Eva feels she is ready for a film career, leave Desperate Housewives, based on the litmus test of this film, she will join the ranks of all the hot ADAs from Law and Order who thought the same thing - and no longer have a career.
The reason for the plot to kill the president was never revealed, we had a few well-trained guys with accents who really seem to hate him, but I guess these days, do we really need an explanation? I make that remark in retort of the digs against Canada in the film, especially since they filmed the entire thing in Toronto. It's also easy to figure out who was the traitor in the Secret Service as soon as the person gets on the screen, and once they do figure out who the traitor is, they don't really explain his/her motives. And there were other small details that were never explained, for instance, there is a scene where agents come to Garrison's house to arrest him, they divulge that they discovered a large amount of cash in his account - it's the one and only mention of it in the entire film.
Admittedly, some of the action sequences were pretty cool, especially the chase in the mall and at the G8 summit in Toronto. However, there is no need to pay for a film when the exact same thing called 24 is on TV - for free.
