The Sentinel

"In 141 years, there's never been a traitor in the Secret Service... until now."

2006 1h 48m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🥫

34%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 939🥫34%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★6.1IMDB · 58,642

ActionThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Veteran Secret Service agent Pete Garrison investigates a colleague's murder and is subsequently framed as a mole in an assassination attempt on the President due to the machinations of a blackmailer who knows the secret he is hiding. Disgraced, dismissed, and now a fugitive with two relentless federal investigators hot on his heels, Garrison must both clear his name and save the president from assassination.

“In 141 years, there's never been a traitor in the Secret Service... until now.”

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Cast

Michael Douglas
Pete Garrison
Kiefer Sutherland
David Breckinridge
Eva Longoria
Jill Marin
Martin Donovan
William Montrose
Kim Basinger
Sarah Ballentine
Ritchie Coster
The Handler
Blair Brown
National Security Advisor
David Rasche
President Ballentine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clark Johnson
Writers: George Nolfi
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clark Johnson, shot by Gabriel Beristain. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christophe Beck. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Cindy Mollo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland and Eva Longoria carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In 141 years, there's never been a traitor in the Secret Service... until now.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0443632 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clark Johnson directs. Gabriel Beristain behind the camera. Christophe Beck scores. Cindy Mollo cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 20 years ago.
3Directed by Clark Johnson, shot by Gabriel Beristain. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Christophe Beck. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Cindy Mollo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland and Eva Longoria carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In 141 years, there's never been a traitor in the Secret Service... until now.".
8IMDB entry: tt0443632 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 18 themes, including "usa president", "washington dc, usa", "the white house", "blackmail".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gabriel Beristain
Original score: Christophe Beck
Editing: Cindy Mollo
Production design: Andrew McAlpine
Costume design: Ellen Mirojnick
Makeup / hair: Diana Ladyshewsky
Stunt coordinator: Rick Forsayeth
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $78,810,595
Return: 131% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Sentinel (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 34% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 58,642 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 nominations total

Also by

Clark Johnson

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-12-26
★ 6/10
“Garrison” (Michael Douglas) has been working on the US Presidential Secret Service detail closely, indeed a lot more closely than even his boss realises. Then, one of their number is slaughtered on his own doorstep and with the G8 summit in Canada looming, they get wind of a plot to assassinate the President. Somehow his colleague “Breckinridge” (Kiefer Sutherland) gets it into his head that it’s his long-time friend who is behind what have to be serious security leaks and so now with his erstwhile protégé disgusted at what “Garrison” might have done and instituting an investigating that could prove dangerous, he has to clobber a couple of the agents guarding him and embark on his own search for the mole in the organisation. Sutherland is competent enough in this film, but just about every one else and the dialogue are really quite pedestrian as this thriller plods along predictably for all but two hours and really does make you wonder how anyone protected by these guys could stay alive long enough to get past reading the paper in the morning. Eva Longoria tries to keep things moving as a fellow agent who believes in him and Kim Basinger appears only sparingly, perhaps she appreciated the shocking limitations of her role - but otherwise this is just a lacklustre vehicle for a tired looking star who really didn’t really show up and for a story we have watched play out so often before. It’s standard television fodder, but I very much doubt you’ll ever recall it afterwards.

Production companies