DVD Review: "The Sentinel"
Category: Movies...
Posted Wednesday, September 20, 2006 at 08:52 PM [GMT-6]

I reviewed the theatrical release of The Sentinel last April, and gave it pretty good marks. I thought it was a decent action movie with a good cast, and I was especially fascinated by the portrayal of the Secret Service, one of the few government agencies with either a flawless reputation or the ability to completely hide its shortcomings.

Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I was contacted via email in early August by the marketing company M80, asking if I would be willing to review the DVD when it was released later that month. M80 had apparently been retained by 20th Century Fox to promote the DVD, and it was contacting "reputable influencers" (and at least one irreputable slacker) with the offer of a free disk in exchange for a review. After a few weeks, here's what arrived in the mail:

I watched the movie fairly soon after receiving the disk and noted nothing different or special about the DVD version (other than it refused to load in my Mac, which I found odd and annoying). But I figured that a review of a DVD was really supposed to focus on the special features, and, frankly, I didn't have time to watch them...until today. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. The disk has the usual marketing schtick -- trailers for the movie itself, plus those of pseudo-related films (Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile, presumably due to Michael Douglas's presence); deleted scenes, including an alternate ending; director and screenwriter commentary; and a couple of "making the film" featurettes.

I didn't rewatch the movie with the commentary track turned on, but I did watch all the other special features. The deleted scenes combined with the director's commentary on why the scenes were shot and why they were deleted offered an interesting look into the moviemaking process. One scene didn't test well with a pre-release audience (it hurt one of the main character's "likability"); another had a background that looked fake (and it really did). The alternate ending would have definitely been an inferior choice compared to the one in the final version, but there was nothing "explosive" about it, despite the marketing hype on the website created to promote the DVD.

However, the best of the special features were the two short narratives about the Secret Service ("In The President's Shadow") and how the technical expertise of retired agents was used in the making of the movie ("The Secret Service: Building on a Tradition of Excellence"). Besides offering some historical perspective and a look at the responsibilities of the Service, they also offered up some interesting tidbits about the actors (for example, Eva Longoria proved to be a much better shot than either Michael Douglas or Kiefer Southerland, and a special team of younger, more fit agents were summoned to guard candidate George W. Bush due to his ability to run fast in the Texas heat).

If you enjoyed The Sentinel on the big screen, it will definitely make a worthy addition to your DVD collection, as the featurettes are both interesting and informative.

Technorati tags: The Sentinel | Secret Service