The Sentinel is a derivative thriller and as I watched it, it was perfectly clear to me just how high Fox's television show 24 has raised the bar. In addition to that stellar TV staple, this flick also borrows heavily from In the Line of Fire and The Fugitive, two films that are also vastly superior in terms of...well... pretty much everything.

In The Sentinel, Michael Douglas is Pete Garrison, a veteran White House security operative. He's beloved for myriad reasons, but he's mostly admired because he saved President Regan's life during an assassination attempt. Year's have passed, and Garrison still does his job well, but a dark little secret proves to be a big thorn in his side, particularly when he's implicated as a number one suspect in a deadly assassination plot.

Soon, Garrison is forced to flee to avoid apprehension and to prove his innocence. Hot on his trail is David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland), another Secret Service Agent who, at one point, just so happened to be Garrison's best friend until an unfortunate rift all but put an end to their friendship.

The Sentinel is slick to be sure. It has the best technical attributes money can by. Sadly, the meandering and highly implausible screenplay undermines much of the proceedings. There is no real tension to be found in this movie. Everything feels far too gimmicky.

Michael Douglas sleepwalks through this stuff in much the same way Harrison Ford did in Firewall. He isn't terrible, but there's no real bite to him either. What's more that empathetic quality that made Ford so damn appealing in the similarly themed The Fugitive is sorely lacking. I found myself not really caring what might happen to Garrison. Kiefer Sutherland's David Breckinridge is more or less a watered down version of 24's Jack Bauer. He brings a couple of nice moments to the film (an early conversation between he a Garrison provides real sparks) but ultimately, this is a fairly weak character trying to make his way through an extremely tepid plot. Eva Longoria feels miscast as Jill Marin, a rookie Secret Service Agent who wants to be taken seriously in her job. I just never bought into her character at all. Kim Basinger is strong as the First Lady. She's subtle and classy, and I was somewhat reminded of her outstanding turn in the brilliant L.A. Confidential.

The Sentinel deserves points for not turning into a bullet-filled blood bath, but for a film about intrigue, it isn't all that intriguing. I picked out the White House mole early on in the picture, and while this guy's motivations are somewhat realistic, not much else in the movie is. And the fashion in which Garrison and Breckinridge's situation is resolved, is positively ridiculous.

The Sentinel isn't without it's moments, but most of the time I found myself extremely bored. With a relentless, twisty, breathtaking show like 24 airing every Monday night, there isn't much of a reason to see this movie. Some might find it unfair for me to compare this flick to that TV show, but how can I not? The similarities go beyond Sutherland's involvement. As a political thriller about dark secrets and deception, The Sentinel feels like a mere mediocre sub plot from one of televison's most unforgettable shows.