I’m not a big movie reviewer, or theatre goer (unless it’s free), but I went to see this one with the fam this weekend. The Sentinel is your basic action-packed, high-intensity, plot-to-kill-the-president thriller. In general I liked it, except for this one thing: Affairs are NOT okay.
WARNING: You MIGHT consider this spoiling some of the movie for you, in which case please avoid reading this till after you’ve seen the movie. I personally don’t think it’ll really ruin much of it for you.
One of the main facets of the movie is that this top notch Secret Service officer is having an affair with the First Lady. Somebody finds out about it and he spends a good deal of effort trying to hide this fact. Basically, No Affair=No Movie. Yet, throughout the movie there is no hint of commentary showing that having the affair, or lying to cover it up, was a bad thing. At one point the Secret Service officer says something along the lines of, “I didn’t see it coming,” implying the affair just “happened.” If anything you leave the movie feeling nothing for the torn relationship between the president and first lady, and rather a desire for the first lady and SS officer to stay together. Which, by the way, this might be considered a sub-plot (or just Ariah’s conspiracy), because the actual movie is about an assassination attempt on the president.
What’s the point of me sharing all this and ruining the movie for you? Just to say that I think we need to be more critical thinkers, and realize what values we are upholding and teaching ourselves. The movie seems to uphold the value that love (the affair) is more important then commitment (the marriage), and that risking everything to protect the person you love (as in keeping your affair a secret) is admirable. Personally this is what I think you should learn: If you sleep with another person’s spouse and then lie to cover it up, you will be shot at, chased down, yelled at, forced to hide, blackmailed, and you’ll live your life in fear.
Affairs are NOT okay.
P.S. Treating women like objects is NOT okay either. (A couple comments in this movie just annoyed me)