The Presidio

The Presidio

10/6/1988 1h 37m 5.9/10

Overview

Jay Austin is now a civilian police detective. Colonel Caldwell was his commanding officer years before when he left the military police over a disagreement over the handling of a drunk driver. Now a series of murders that cross jurisdictions force them to work together again. That Austin is now dating Caldwell's daughter is not helping their relationship.

Director

Peter Hyams

Top Billed Cast

Mark Harmon

Mark Harmon

Jay Austin

Sean Connery

Sean Connery

Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell

Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan

Donna Caldwell

Jack Warden

Jack Warden

Sgt. Maj. Ross Maclure

Mark Blum

Mark Blum

Arthur Peale

Dana Gladstone

Dana Gladstone

Col. Paul Lawrence

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

7/4/2022

5/10

Mark Harmon is "Jay", a former military policeman turned cop who is called upon to investigate a series of murders that reintroduce him to his former CO "Col. Caldwell" (Sean Connery) with whom he doesn't especially get along. It doesn't help when he starts to date the colonel's independently minded daughter "Donna" (Meg Ryan) but can they put their differences aside long enough to find out what's going on and stop any more killings? Well, of course they can - this film has precisely no jeopardy at all. Though the motive for the crimes remains a mystery for a while, the rest of this follows a well travelled line that is disappointingly predictable. Harmon is never a particularly strong or convincing actor, Connery - and his traditional, wry, smile - clearly just wanted his fee and not for the first time Meg Ryan adds very little as this plods along. It's watchable on the television over a glass or two, but it's all very unremarkable.

GenerationofSwine

1/12/2023

10/10

Occasionally my mother would really get into a movie, choose a quote as a favorite, and then repeat it constantly in a cartoonish exaggeration of whoever said it in the film. The Persidio is one of those films she latched onto, and for years after we were subjected to her Sean Connery impression as she threatened to beat us up using only her thumb. So now every time I see it, heck, every time I'm in Frisco, that is the quote that gets stuck in my head for days after. But, in her defense, it was a very good scene and actually does deserve to be remembered and quoted more. It's my go to Sean Connery impression... when I'm not impersonating Johnny Lee Miller impersonating Sean Connery. Or the Untouchables, but I kind of feel that one is over used. Everyone goes there when they do Connery. Or, you know, I could just live in Chicago. Maybe the rest of the country and the world just does James Bond. The point is, you have a quotable Sean Connery scene. And that alone is worth it. And you have the San Francisco chase scene, and I really hate Frisco, but I do really love movies that are set there and any chase through San Francisco streets is fun if for no other reason than it makes you instantly think of Bullet. The multi-jurisdictional cliche thing is here, and tragically underused in a lot of movies. But you get a good dynamic of military and civilian cop bumping heads with one another. It's a situation that is made worse by bad blood and a bit of history, and then made even worse by a blooming romantic interest. And it's the 80s, so you know that the romantic interest is going to be Meg Ryan, no spoiler there. And all of that with an actual compelling case that the two cops have to solve. It's kind of all over the place, but in the best possible 80s cliche kind of way.

Similar Movies

Beverly Hills Cop II

6.5

Beverly Hills Cop II

1987

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

6.1

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

1985

Around the World in 80 Days

5.9

Around the World in 80 Days

2004

A Perfect Murder

6.5

A Perfect Murder

1998

The Long Goodbye

7.4

The Long Goodbye

1973

We Own the Night

6.7

We Own the Night

2007

Anatomy of a Murder

7.8

Anatomy of a Murder

1959

Absolute Power

6.7

Absolute Power

1997

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

7.1

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

1988

A Mighty Heart

6.4

A Mighty Heart

2007

Falling Through

3.0

Falling Through

2000

No Code of Conduct

5.4

No Code of Conduct

1999

Fine Dead Girls

5.4

Fine Dead Girls

2002