Presidio: Base militaire San Francisco

A Military Policeman investigating what looked like a break-in at the Officer's Club at the Presidio in San Francisco is shot down. The same man also shoots an SFPD officer while fleeing the first crime. This makes the whole thing a dual jurisdiction between the Army and the local law enforcement.

Hard enough normally, but in this situation you have a detective played by Mark Harmon who's a former MP who has a bad history with Sean Connery the provost marshal in charge at the Presidio. Though they hate each other's guts they of necessity have to work together.

Sean Connery is one of those players who just being in a film elevates in class. Without him in the thing this would be just a routine police yarn, might have been good enough for a made for TV film and nothing more. Another conflict in the film is Connery with daughter Meg Ryan who takes an interest in Harmon at first to spite dad, but then finds herself falling for him.

Acting honors in this film go to Jack Warden the retired sergeant major who won a Congressional Medal of Honor saving Connery's life in Vietnam. Warden and Connery keep you interested in the film, in finding out just why the MP and the SFPD officer had to die. Without them, I doubt anyone would care.

Despite what some people have said about this movie, I must tell you I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sean Connery, as always, gets into his character Lt. Col. Caldwell very well (he should be cast as a military officer more often). Meg Ryan, though limited in screen time, shines as his daughter Donna...they're father-daughter sessions make for some good drama.

Mark Harmon, who for some reason hasn't received many offers to star in big movie roles, plays Jay Austin. He's a cop who used to be an MP at The Presidio, the base at which a murder takes place. Harmon does an excellent job, both as Donna's lover and Caldwell's unwanted partner.

The fact is, the performances are wonderful, the story is fascinating, and the chase scenes create pulse-pounding excitement. If you like action, romance, drama, and a little humor every now and then, I recommend The Presidio.

A break-in at a military base leads to a murder; the perpetrators' escape causes the death of a cop outside the base, so the case will involve both the San Francisco P.D. and the military police. Former MP Jay Austin (Mark Harmon) is now a detective who will butt heads with his old commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Caldwell (Sean Connery). They'll argue about methodology, and jurisdiction, and other such things, and Jay will naturally fall in lust with Caldwells' conveniently cute daughter Donna (Meg Ryan).

Although there are some good moments for the main actors - Jack Warden also among them, as Caldwells' longtime friend Ross Maclure - this movie is more entertaining during its murder investigation scenes. It IS played awfully straight, with not much in the way of humour, but then, this is more of a serious thriller than the typical buddy-cop action film. It does also have, however, a ridiculous scene that serves no real purpose to the plot other than to show how bad ass Connery is, as he beats up Rick Zumwalt (as a bully in a bar) with his THUMB. Slickly made, with capable direction by Peter Hyams, who again serves as as his own cinematographer (and does a better job of lighting the proceedings than usual). The location work in SF is excellent, fortunately.

The handsome Harmon is passable as our likable good guy protagonist, but he doesn't have much chemistry with either Connery or Ryan. The supporting cast is solid: Mark Blum, Marvin J. McIntyre, Dana Gladstone, the much too briefly seen Jenette Goldstein, Don Calfa (in a quick cameo), John DiSanti, Robert Lesser, Patrick Kilpatrick, etc., but Connery is the principal reason to watch "The Presidio". His effortlessly strong presence lends itself well to the role of a career military man.

This is easy enough to watch, but also easy enough to forget.

Six out of 10.

This story looks like other drama/action movies. The story take place at the Presidio (military base) and is nothing new (a criminal investigation inside military lines) but Meg Ryan, Sean Connery, Mark Harmon plays it so well that the thin story becomes a minimum. Though it isn't a complete love story and have a little attention to it, Mark Harmon and Meg Ryan does it very well. She has a complex since her father (Sean Connery) probably spent more time doing the army instead of his wife (her mother). She cannot concentrate her mind on one man for long. Of course he (Mark Harmon) falls in love with her after a few love scenes, and at a party he get furious when she wants to dance with another gentleman. They come apart. This is when I noticed that this movie was about love. At home she have a little fight with her father over the problem, and as a solution to this she goes back to Mark Harmon's apartment where she apologize. When the story reach top and they solve the puzzle the end comes very quickly, but as they walk away hand in hand I feel like something else has been solved. The love between father and daughter, and of course between daughter and her lover (Mark H.).

See for yourself Meg Ryan is made to be a father's darling.

Quite enjoyable action detective. Acting by Sean Connery is excellent, as always, but the weak link of this movie is the other leading character, who looks like a desk clerk for a hairdressing salon, meaning he looks bland and dandy, with no screen presence whatsoever. This is troubling because this "hairdressers desk clerk" leading actor has to play a character that opposes Sean Connery and there just isnt any real chemistry.

The biggest mistake therefore is made in casting for this movie. They should have cast a more macho kinda actor, like Bruce Willis or James Woods and not some whimp. On Imdb's Trivia section I read that initially Kevin Costner was casted as the other leading role. But to great dismay of Sean Connery (he was furious) another actor replaced Kevin Costner at the last minute.

This movie is still quite enjoyable, although it could have been a lot better with a different actor opposing Sean Connery.

The whole movie is about two macho guys (one military, one police) butting heads against each other while trying to solve a murder case. There is some charming budding romance plot with Meg Ryan to be enjoyed as well, although it stays somewhat superficial and hasnt any real merit to the story.