When a Secret Service agent becomes the prime suspect in a presidential assassination plot
In short: In the 2006 thriller The Sentinel, a veteran bodyguard finds himself framed for treason after a mole infiltrates the highest levels of presidential security. As he races to clear his name, he must navigate a web of blackmail, illicit affairs, and a deadly international conspiracy threatening the G8 summit.
Directed by Clark Johnson and based on the 2003 novel by former Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich, The Sentinel explores the high-stakes world of presidential protection. The narrative centers on Pete Garrison, a seasoned agent who once saved Ronald Reagan's life. His world unravels when his friend and colleague Charlie Merriweather is murdered, leading Garrison to uncover an assassination plot against the President. The investigation is complicated by Garrison's own secrets, specifically an affair with the First Lady, Sarah Ballentine, which causes him to fail a mandatory polygraph test and marks him as the primary suspect in the eyes of his former protégé, David Breckinridge.
The film’s tension relies on the internal rot within the Secret Service. The mole is revealed to be William Montrose, the agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Division, who is blackmailed by former KGB operatives hired by a Colombian cartel. While the plot moves from Washington, D.C. to a G8 summit in Toronto, the film balances action sequences with the personal friction between Garrison and Breckinridge, whose relationship is strained by a long-held, false belief that Garrison had an affair with Breckinridge's wife. The resolution sees the protagonists thwart the assassination attempt, though the cost is high: Montrose is killed, and Garrison is forced into early retirement due to the public exposure of his affair.
Critically, the film received a mixed reception. While reviewers like Roger Ebert awarded it 3 out of 4 stars, others were less impressed, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 34% approval rating from 131 critics. The consensus often pointed to a promising premise that eventually suffered from conventional action tropes and significant plot holes. Despite these critiques, the film performed moderately at the box office, grossing $78.8 million against a $60 million budget. It remains a notable example of the political action genre, blending the technical procedural elements of Secret Service operations with the dramatic stakes of a presidential security breach.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The Sentinel (2006 film)
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