The Sentinel

You could be forgiven for assuming actor-turned-filmmaker Clark Johnson's crisply directed thriller, based on the novel by Gerald Petievich, was an above-average direct-to-DVD movie: Everything about it says efficient, modest, small-screen production except the presence of producer-star Michael Douglas, who may finally have hit the wall of his theatrical leading-man viability. Veteran Secret Service agent Peter Garrison (Douglas), who took a bullet for his president in 1981, stumbles upon evidence that someone's plotting to assassinate the current commander in chief (David Rasche) and that one of his fellow agents is involved. If only Garrison weren't having a highly...