Michael Douglas‘ action movie, which disappointed with $78 million at the box office, has become a global Netflix hit 19 years later. The son of actors Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill, Michael Douglas first rose to prominence on the ABC police procedural The Streets of San Francisco, a performance that earned him three consecutive Emmy nominations. In film, his star-making role was Romancing the Stone, though he first received critical acclaim for his performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Douglas starred in some of his most notable roles, including Fatal Attraction, The War of the Roses, Basic Instinct, Falling Down, The American President, The Game, and Traffic. In the 2000s, after becoming a well-established actor, Douglas starred in several movies – such as Don’t Say a Word, The In-Laws, and The Sentinel – which were not successful, critically or commercially. However, during the 2010s, Douglas’ career saw a resurgence, starring in Behind the Candelabra, The Kominsky Method, and joining the MCU.
The Sentinel Becomes A Global Netflix Hit
It Ranks 2nd For This Week
The Sentinel has become a global Netflix hit almost two decades after its original release. Directed by Clark Johnson (S.W.A.T.), with a script written by George Nolfi (Ocean’s Twelve) based on the novel by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich, the 2006 political action thriller stars Douglas as a veteran Secret Service agent who, framed for an ᴀssᴀssination attempt on the president, races against time to prove his innocence and uncover the true traitor within his ranks. The cast also includes Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria, and Kim Basinger.
Now, 19 years after its release, Douglas’ political action thriller has become a global Netflix hit. The Sentinel ranks second on Netflix’s Global Top 10 movies for this week with 7.9 million views and 14.2 million hours viewed. It ranks below Back in Action and above Under the Boardwalk, The Secret Life of Pets 2, The Lovely Bones, The Secret Life of Pets, The Menu, Scream VI, Minions: The Rise of Gru, and Carry-On. The Sentinel is in the Top 10 in 80 countries, including No. 1 in the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Ireland, and Kenya.
The Sentinel isn’t available on Netflix in the United States, though it is streaming on Prime Video.
What The Sentinel’s Netflix Success Means For The Movie
It’s Seen A Resurgence Despite Not Doing So Well In 2006
The Sentinel wasn’t very successful upon its release in 2006, grossing only $78 million at the box office, which was considered a disappointment considering its $60 million budget and star-studded cast. Reviews were also largely negative, with some praising its promising premise, but many criticizing its numerous plot holes and predictable action scenes. The BBC‘s Stella Papamichael humorously called the film “as compelling as watching the ink dry on a superfluous UN treaty,” though other critics, such as Roger Ebert, enjoyed the film, calling it a “well-crafted thriller.”
The resurgence of The Sentinel on Netflix highlights the enduring appeal of political action thrillers, especially on streaming. The Sentinel certainly isn’t the best Michael Douglas movie or the strongest performance of his career. However, for those craving a well-crafted thriller, as Ebert called it, The Sentinel should be worth a watch on streaming.
Source: Netflix
