Synopsis
Police detective Jay Austin ( Mark Harmon ) left the military long ago, after a heated disagreement between him and his commanding officer Colonel Caldwell ( Sean Connery ). Now, a woman from Jay's past is found dead at the presidio, the Army base in San Fransisco, and Jay is forced to team up with Colonel Caldwell to solve the case. Things are further complicated when Jay falls for Caldwell's daughter, Donna ( Meg Ryan ).
Review
Several days ago, I discovered this film on Netflix and was immediately excited! I ignored all the negative reviews, passing them off as the ramblings of deranged internet trolls. Sean Connery, Meg Ryan, and Mark Harmon...how could I go wrong? But boy, was I grieviously mistaken!
The film starts out with promise, opening with a riveting nighttime car chase that had me gripping the arms of my chair. It was the most memorable car chase I've seen since Bulitt. But Presidio's excitement quickly dissolves after that, giving us a dull, poorly written script with some of the worst acting I've seen from Mark Harmon and Meg Ryan. The dialogue between these two is horrendous; their first scene together literally had me cringing in disgust. It was hard to see these talented actors turning in such cheesy performances, but I don't think they're to blame as much as the poor script is. Don't get me wrong, Harmon had moments where he delivered a decent performance; sadly, these scenes usually seemed to be when he was in the presence of Sean Connery and Meg Ryan was absent - sorry Meg. If there was one redeeming factor of Presidio, it was Sean Connery, who overcame the crappy script as best he could and exuded the charm and confidence we've come to expect from him.
What ruined this film most, I think, was that it felt more like a soap opera than a thriller, with way too much drama regarding Jay and Donna's relationship. One scene goes something like this: "But daddy, I'm a grown woman, I can date whoever I want!"
Colonel Caldwell: "I don't want you dating that man, you hear me!" This continues on and on throughout the movie, to the point where I was tempted to switch off the TV on several occasions. I mean, c'mon! We have two of the best actors alive teaming up to solve a murder, but the main focus is on relationship issues? And when we finally get scenes where Jay and Colonel Caldwell are investigating the crime at hand, there's usually no sense of tension or urgency. It felt more like a boring TV movie than a theatrical release.
One of the strange things about this film, though, is whenever there's an action scene - and trust me, there's not many - they're very well executed and had me on the edge of my seat! It was as if the film was teasing me, allowing me a temporary glimpse into what it could have been, which made the overall experience that much more disappointing.
The Presidio is a missed opportunity, one that left me dumbfounded and angry. If you should by some chance decide to watch it, just skip to the action scenes, particularly the fun car chase at the beginning. But for those who decide against watching it, I've included a video clip of the car sequence below. Hope you enjoy!
Colonel Caldwell: "I don't want you dating that man, you hear me!" This continues on and on throughout the movie, to the point where I was tempted to switch off the TV on several occasions. I mean, c'mon! We have two of the best actors alive teaming up to solve a murder, but the main focus is on relationship issues? And when we finally get scenes where Jay and Colonel Caldwell are investigating the crime at hand, there's usually no sense of tension or urgency. It felt more like a boring TV movie than a theatrical release.
One of the strange things about this film, though, is whenever there's an action scene - and trust me, there's not many - they're very well executed and had me on the edge of my seat! It was as if the film was teasing me, allowing me a temporary glimpse into what it could have been, which made the overall experience that much more disappointing.
Final Thoughts
The Presidio is a missed opportunity, one that left me dumbfounded and angry. If you should by some chance decide to watch it, just skip to the action scenes, particularly the fun car chase at the beginning. But for those who decide against watching it, I've included a video clip of the car sequence below. Hope you enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment