Sentinelle (2021) User Reviews

Feels realistic, but it's not. And it fails storywise.

[siderite · 5/10 · 7 March 2021]

I wanted to like the film and I expected to. It's a French film, and they usually don't pull their punches, then it's action and French action movies, when well done, are the best, and finally it starred Olga Kurylenko, who is a talented actress, not to mention really good looking. I mean, she's 40 and she looks 27.

Yet the whole movie is following this trained soldier fighting random people in order to get to her target. The entire story of the film is that one sentence. And the fight scenes were good, but far between, and too often they started from a careful and silent exploration of a building and some guy suddenly coming out of nowhere. The rest was boring and didn't make much sense. I do hope in France they don't take PTSD soldiers with an opioid addiction, arm them with Famas and let them roam wherever they want, even when wanted by the police and when they know where she's headed. The characters: all formulaic and most were superfluous. When they were not, they had a lot of extra characteristics not used anywhere. For example Olga's character knows five foreign languages - I expected her to put that to use, but it was just a random fact.

The worst, though, was the ending. In order to make it a bit longer, they had the bad guy escape once, only to be killed a few minutes later, when the target of one hour and twenty minutes was reached.

Bottom line: a failed film that doesn't know what it wants to be.

I love Olga so I sat through it..other than that, meh!

[privatelyed · 4/10 · 5 March 2021]

I thought I was gonna see someone like Atomic Blonde, at least a Salt, or even Ava and/or Sam Carlson, Proud Mary; heck, not even a Hit Girl. Decent enough for one viewing, but that's all//

Mediocre

[Tweetienator · 5/10 · 8 March 2021]

Gently put, Sentinelle is a watered down version of movies like Taken (Liam Neeson) with a little more focus on the broken character of our heroin. The action sequences are okay but compared to the genre standard of vigilante, revenge movies rather mediocre and lack verve, violence, speed, amount. As the rest of the story does not really make up to that lack of action quality, Sentinelle can't really satisfy the audience action nor drama wise. All in all: okay, a movie of TV standard, with a solid game by Olga Kurylenko. Verdict: nothing remarkable, but not that bad like many reviews and ratings indicate, that's at least my opinion.

Really Ridiculous

[hrao · 2/10 · 6 March 2021]

This French woman soldier goes on a killing rampage at the end and no one can find her? She can travel At will and no one can find her?

Decent start, but terrible second part

[deruiterjelle · 3/10 · 5 March 2021]

It started relatively strong, but very soon ended up full of cliches, rushed scenes and bad fight scenes. The most enjoyable part of the movie was laughing recognizing a cliche! Could have been a nice movie, but unfortunately it wasn't good.

nice start

[info-955-180029 · 2/10 · 5 March 2021]

But that is all.After 10 ' you realize how predictable and boring will be the end.

Olga, wonderful - but the film does not deserve her.

[Nemesis42 · 7/10 · 6 March 2021]

The stars here are for Olga. It was not her fault the script went flat. This starts off well' then runs out of steam on the second half.

More secondary character presence and development of would have provided better context for her story, and been much more interesting. The primary villain for example is not fleshed out or developed even near enough to provide an emotional counterbalance for the protagonist. More screen time and better writing on him alone will improve it. We need to feel and fret about how bad he is. Then we can more effectively justify Olgas journey.

It felt like she was playing against an empty person who we barely knew. It would be better had things been more realistic in the second half too

Boring , illogical, bad acting

[dynamitegb · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

Waste of time, so bring, acting is so bad, Watch on your risk

I actually enjoyed it

[atouchoftragedy · 7/10 · 6 March 2021]

I watched it while doing other stuff, household chores and ended up liking it. Since it doesn't have a complicated plot, it's easy to follow and I really liked the main character and her revenge motives as well as the character in general. The movie has some major plot holes and logical faults though but that was okay. The super duper action movies with Statham and friends also have those.

Vacuity

[eric-maisonneuve · 3/10 · 5 March 2021]

Doesn't reflect at all what is sentinelle operation in France... beside this, everything is slow in that movie. Too bad. I only decided to watch that movie for Olga, in France, we say "Elle est grave bonne". That's all folks.

I want to believe

[njumeil · 8/10 · 15 March 2021]

Imagine if this movie had blockbuster budget. I bet your version would differ from mine, but Hollywood would have Scarlet playing unbelievable soldier from Russia making the world a better place. What we have here is Olga playing brilliantly, looking almost believable as a soldier and trough her inner nightmares shining some light on this bleak immoral world. It is slow, but slow is smooth. I liked this film. I liked it a lot. There are no higher than life concepts, but why would we want another picture about cogs fighting in a world of global geopolitics. We want people doing it for other people and for themselves. In this essence A Sentinela is a brilliant 80-ies flick about family and revenge, but with grit and script of 21st century. Do not be rational about it, if you choose to watch it, just enjoy a the performance of someone doing what they think is right in their worldview.

A Gay Heroine Who Kills Butt!!!

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 30 June 2021]

Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko plays a troubled French soldier in co-writer & director Julien Leclercq's austere revenge thriller "Sentinelle" who launches on a vendetta against the dastard who raped her younger sister and left her for dead. Pared down to 81 gritty minutes, this spartan saga efficiently dispenses with the preliminaries in short order before our heroine improvises 'an eye for an eye' Old Testament retribution. Moreover, our heroine isn't some hysterical half-wit. She survived an arduous tour of duty in war-torn Syria with the French 92nd Infantry Regiment where she served as their interpreter. She convinced her commanding officer not to shoot the wife of a suspected terrorist in the back of the head. Initially, the wife had refused to divulge her spouse's whereabouts over fear for her son's life. Klara promises no harm will befall her son. The soldiers act to protect the couple's young son. Surprise of surprises, the father gives himself up, but his son blows himself to smithereens at his father's bidding! Klara witnessed this ghastly event when a fellow soldier found explosive charges strapped to the juvenile Syrian's chest. This harrowing moment haunts Klara like shrapnel in her soul.

The French Army transfers Klara back to France and reassigns her to serve in Opération Sentinelle. Actually, France commenced this real-life, domestic military campaign after repeated outbreaks of terrorism rocked the country in 2015. Well-armed, clad-in-camo, combat troops patrolled French streets and helped stray tourists find their motels. Klara suffers from migraines as a result of that traumatic moment. Warning her about the perils of addiction, Klara's army doctor prescribes a cocktail of opioids, beta-blockers, and sedatives, so she can manage her PTSD. Back home again, Klara complains about her lukewarm military career. Graduating at the top of her class, she speaks five languages fluently. She complains her superiors have passed over her and promoted others.

Klara and her fellow soldiers continue to prowl the streets and beaches for potential terrorists. Every time she spots a backpack abandoned in a public place; Klara relives the memory of the youth obliterating himself. Part of Klara is happy to return home to be with her younger sister Tania (Marilyn Lima) and her widowed mother Maria (Antonia Malineva of "Marie-Line"). Tania persuades Klara to accompany her to the Club Millennium for a night of dancing and drinking. While Klara cavorts on the dance floor with another woman, Tania joins a group of rowdy Russian guys. Clearly, Klara prefers women to men, but Leclercq and co-writer Matthieu Serveau never explore this revelation. Later, the following day, Klara walks out on her one-night stand and then is shocked to find Tania in a coma at the local hospital. Looking at her sister's bruised and battered face, Klara decides to investigate. She learns the guy Tania left the club with wasn't the guilty party. Instead, his evil, amoral father is the culprit, but he has diplomatic immunity, so the police cannot touch him until Tania recovers. Naturally, Klara ignores these niceties as well as his diplomatic status and his goon squad of bodyguards.

Director Julien Leclercq stages two slam-bang, knockdown, drag-out brawls with our heroine outnumbered in each fight. Eventually, Klara snaps and steals a pistol and two 5.56mm Fama assault rifles from the army barracks. Initially, she screws up when she tries to kill the slippery Russian, and his bodyguard nearly drowns her in a tub. You'll love how she thwarts the bodyguard! Nothing if not resilient, Klara never quits and pursues her quarry. "Sentinelle" is unlike most thrillers because our heroine doesn't bounce off walls as if they were trampolines. Instead, like her adversaries, she suffers the ill after-effects of combat but musters enough spirit to keep kicking. Sadly, Leclercq and Matthieu Serveau leave questions unanswered about Klara which would have been illuminating. Altogether, "Sentinelle" ranks as an above-average thriller about an indomitable dame who doesn't shirk her filial obligations. You'll need a Netflix subscription to stream this unforgiving manhunt.

Although pedictable cliche, but very boring

[bm-89274 · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

It was short but ineffective. Olga is the only who can act. I like her acting, you cannot take that away. Although as a soldier she is more funny than cool. But the rest of the movie: idea, plot, story, continuity, feasibility, twist - does not exist. Camera work is amateur. Color grading is done by reading help, I guess.

If you want a good feeling about this movie, then take any movie by Steven Seagal, cut out of it a quarter and stretch it out to 1 hour and 20 minutes.

I forgot how many times I pressed fast forward

[manchiu-04695 · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

I forgot how many times I pressed fast forward and I don't understand why is this top 10. Netflix is getting disappointing.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

[YawAgyapong · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

This lady was practically invincible the entire film. She beat up groups of men and women and cane out very unscathed. She's better than John Wick, Batman and superwoman in this movie

Seen it many times before, and much better.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 5/10 · 24 December 2022]

There was absolutely nothing new in this film that hasn't already been done before, and done much better. The directing was sub-par and bland. The shaky camera got annoying, and the choreographed action scenes weren't anything great. Even at a mere 80 min runtime, the slow pacing and lack of any real narrative outside the conceptual story made this film drag on and feel much longer. Everything in the writing was cliched and predictable. There really was no point in making this film. Even as a fan of Olga Kurylenko, I felt she was underutilized. You wont miss a thing if you skip this one. It's a generous 5/10 all going to some decent cinematography and to the adequate casting and performances.

I liked it

[TdSmth5 · 7/10 · 2 November 2021]

Olga is a translator somewhere in the middle east. Her unit is looking for some guy. When a fellow soldier is about to use force to get the whereabouts of the guy, Olga intervenes and gets the info peacefully. They find the guy who is with his young son. A long scuffle ensues and he keeps repeatedly telling the son "to do it." And he does. The kid blows himself up and a bunch of soldiers.

Back in France, Olga is now tasked with walking around popular spots and look for signs of trouble. She's traumatized and sees potential bombs and threats everywhere. He sister takes her out to dance one night. They get separated. The sister leaves with some rich Russian guys. Olga meets a hot girl and has hot sex. The sister doesn't make it home but has been raped and beaten. Olga goes off the books and starts investigating. It's not too hard to track down the rich Russians...who have diplomatic status. That gets her repeated warnings from her superiors. But Olga continues undeterred. There's a bit of a surprise about the real culprit and Olga will have to confront the guy repeatedly till she finds her revenge.

I like Olga and she manages to carry this movie. It's a short movie with some grit and violence and is well filmed. Sure, the idea is generic but the setting and background make it a little different. Cinematography is nice and bright. Fortunately, the French haven't learned the bad Hollywood habit of of filming all crimes and all climaxes at night. The sex scene surprised me and was very hot. The action is well filmed and believable. There's really not much wrong with this movie and it's worth watching.

Non merci

[gurumaggie · 2/10 · 5 March 2021]

The plot isn't logical, she walks around in fatigues in broad daylight, she looks at a roof and just appears on it? She blunders through the film like a bull in a China shop.

It's not a good enough film, it promises more than it delivers.

Not bad

[performancehuntershow · 7/10 · 6 March 2021]

A simple revenge film, that has the heroine using her military skills to exact revenge.

A sub-par revenge film

[adaptor · 3/10 · 17 March 2021]

This is a forgettable revenge film that could have been more interesting if it hadn't been a revenge film. The premise of her coming back with PTSD and working through that with a drug addiction while working as a Sentinel could have had legs on its own. I don't think it needed an amateurish Charles Bronson-esque revenge plot grafted onto it. This is a movie that progresses downhill from the beginning through to the end. Disappointing and unfortunate.

Not fully following the expectations of the genre, it is too lean a take on revenge porn.

[JohnDeSando · 14 March 2021]

"It's a war within yourself that never goes away." Buried Above Ground

Sentinelle is a Netflix actioner with so little fat you want to stuff it with croissants. Although I am consistently in favor or minimalism, this revenge porn entry also needs a heavy dose of Viagra. If you're looking for a French take on Taken, you can enjoy a few kick-ass moments and get out 80 minutes later none the worse off.

Klara (Olga Kurylenko) suffers from PTSD (see quote above) after Operation Sentinelle as the opening amply sets up. Upon coming home to France, after a club visit with her sister, her sister is beaten and raped. The tragedy gives Klara the excuse to off some cookie-cutter thugs in pursuit of wealthy and protected very bad guys.

Although it's pleasing to see Klara take down baddies twice her diminutive size, even those encounters are skin tight, giving too little satisfaction to those of us who like a bit of banter before the revenge. That sparse emotional take on Klara and the evildoers robs us of the vicarious, Promising-Young-Woman fulfillment that shows just how much the bad-boys deserve their punishment. The filmmakers' reluctance to take further Klara's lesbian orientation robs us again of a rich understanding of her complex character. The gratuitous sex scene after the club visit is not enough.

According to the dictates of the revenge genre, this little whirlwind will get her man and thereby satisfy our need for closure to the crimes. Cinema has been attentive to the #me-too mandate (even in our daily lives vengeance has shaken the tree of a once noble politician like NY governor Cuomo), and now women are depicted as central symbols of a society that has had enough violation of the vulnerable. In other words, bring her on; don't hold back.

Although Sentinelle promises to be a complement to the French tough ladies like Nikita, it reduces its scope by not attending fully to the genre, which is woke with the need for full emotional disclosure and full closure.

She does what you want her to do

[joelleiris · 8/10 · 10 March 2021]

She does what you want her to do its cliche but idc loved the rage in her and everything went too well but I actually wanted her to win so its fiiine

Revenge... a temporary remedy for PTSD.

[Bellicose3 · 6/10 · 8 March 2021]

Kurylenko's intense performance is solid as a French soldier coping w/PTSD. Using it as a driver for revenge.

Story have very little exposition to slow it down.

Fight choreography is concise and adequate for the amount of violent encounters in a 80min runtime.

Witnessing the 'sentinelle' sacrifice nearly everything is reason enough to see this movie.

What was the purpose???

[ricksarkar666 · 3/10 · 6 March 2021]

Revenge was a great revenge thriller, this one is not. Don't know why Netflix keep releasing this kind of garbage lately. Even Olga couldn't save this garbage. Boring, pointless, worst script and pathetic cinematography

finished in 5 min

[sfrskz-441-991112 · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

It was so boring, i kept skipping scenes. wish olga wasnt acting in this "movie"