Murder at the Presidio

The movie was fine as far as the genre goes. I prefer military themed movies to at least portray members of the military accurately. There is no way an Army officer in uniform is going to have any facial hair other than a mustache. Special Ops sometimes do have beards, etc, but not garrison stationed officers. The Motor Pool PFCs were too old to still be at that rank. If they were that bad of a soldier, they would have not been retained in the Army. Actors who are hired to portray soldiers should have a haircut to match the role. Lou D. Phillips introduced himself as a Warrant Officer, yet I heard him referred to as Lieutenant. I still haven't figured that one out yet. The movie wasn't bad, but this reviewer found the military inaccuracies glaringly distracting.

I had to go back to the beginning of the movie to view the stock footage again to make sure this movie wasn't about the Presidio of Monterrey. It turns out that not only was the story really about the Presidio of San Francisco, but that also it 'missed it' in at least three main areas, in a made-for-TV production. As noted elsewhere, the comparison to realistic military living is off. I could only wonder with a dropped-jaw how a single Military Police corporal had such extravagant living quarters, and consider with rolled-eyes how the military post was inaccurately depicted as having a guarded entry gate. Further, none of the sets were created to accurately show the real beauty of the post, it's landscape makeup, or how the buildings were really constructed. Sure they showed enlisted family housing very near the water, but it is a beach and not near the yacht harbor. Finally, interesting talent was cast for the telling of the story, but beyond that the film direction demonstrated a lack-luster effort at best. After viewing it, the movie left me feeling disappointed, betrayed, and even a little upset about the loss of time spent viewing it. So frankly, as also noted in another place here, this crime story really about a place that is not at the Presidio.

"Murder At The Presidio" is a routine mystery. Lou Diamond Phillips plays James Chandler, a detective who is looking into the murder of a woman on a navy base. When he gets too close, the Army becomes an enemy for him.

Lou Diamond Phillips is very charismatic in the role. Jason Priestley is underused. The story and characters are mostly one-note. You know their every word and action ahead of time.

It's a little more suspenseful then "The Presidio" but that's not saying much.

In the end: If you like LDP, it's worth seeing, but that's it. "Renegades" or "Boulevard" are better choices.

For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

I helped make this movie up here in Canada and I had a really great time in doing so.

I was an extra and provided the military transportation for the movie and getting the takes down was fun and interesting.

I would work for John Fasano any day I think he did a really good job rebuilding this movie. Lou, Victoria, and Jason and all the other actors were fantastic and would love to work with them again. The staff and production crew did and awesome job making this movie possible and my hat is off to you.

Thanks again for a great time and for meeting all the people I met in these travels.

As for people who haven't really watch this movie i suggest you do

Another reviewer put it best with the title for his review: "made for TV" One of the problems with made-for-TV movies is that some producer or network executive comes up with a concept and then hires by commission the writer and director; and if they are 'professionals' - in TV-industry terms, which has just about nothing to do with film-making, although the two industries do feed on each other for talent - they will slog through a couple weeks production whether they care about the concept or not.

The script here is most to blame - while 'professional' enough so that it's difficult to quote bad lines, it is a completely moronic story, utterly unbelievable - without knowing anything about the 'true story' this hypes itself as being 'based upon', I can guarantee that the one true thing you can say of this film is that it is not based on a true story. People with personal problems do not make good detectives; and one has to get into the story by assuming that every officer and non-com at the Presidio is engaged in a cover-up, or some other form of corruption? And talk about gratuitous - i.e., wholly unnecessary (and exploitatively filmed)- sex scenes! As if these characters had ever shown any real interest in each other in the first place.

However, as with most anything made for television, I was able to have this run in the background while doing something else (cleaning house), so I didn't have to pay much attention to it. That's the only good thing I can say about it.