Bullet Points: The Presidio
The historic Presidio of San Francisco was seized by the United States in 1846 at the start of the Mexican-American War. It would officially be re-opened by the Americans in 1848 and became home to several army headquarters and units for more than a century before it was turned over to the National Park Service on October 1, 1994.
The Presidio also served as the backdrop and namesake for the 1988 film, The Presidio…
- Murdered, She Was: Patti Jean Lynch (Jenette Goldstein, Aliens) is an MP stationed at the Presidio, but little does she know when she reports for duty late one one foggy night that it would be her last. Patti Jean is making her rounds when she notices a suspicious vehicle parked outside the officer’s club. When Patti Jean gets out of her car to get a closer look, she notices the front door has been busted open… she calls it in, but does not wait for backup and pays for it… she goes inside, spooks the two masked men who had busted in and is shot dead. The masked men flee the scene, which leads to a high speed chase first on Presidio grounds but eventually spilling out on to the streets of San Francisco… the end result, two SFPD officers end up dead and the perpetrators escape.
- Back to the Presidio: Detective Jay Austin (Mark Harmon, Let’s Get Harry) is assigned the case and it is no accident. Years earlier, Austin was an MP stationed at the Presidio, but he ended up quitting after a disagreement with his superior over how Austin handled an arrest on base. Now Austin has to work with his former superior, Lt. Col. Caldwell (Sean Connery, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) and the two pick up right where they left off years earlier butting heads. Things get even more complicated when one of the suspects is Col. Paul Lawrence, the same guy that MP Jay Austin arrested years earlier that caused him to quit the United States Army, but The Presidio had one more wrinkle to throw in…
- When Jay Met Donna: The next day, Jay Austin heads over to Caldwell’s house to discuss the case with him, but did not expect Donna Caldwell (Meg Ryan, Top Gun) to answer the door, probably because despite the fact that Jay knew Caldwell for years, he never even knew Caldwell had a daughter. Donna just recently graduated college and is back home with her father until she figures out what she wants to do with her life. Jay wastes no time flirting with her, but the same could be said for Donna. So it is really no surprise that the two end up going out to dinner and then afterwards end up at Austin’s place. It is even less of a surprise that Lt. Col. Caldwell does not approve of his daughter seeing the pain in the ass known as Detective Jay Austin.
- Tag Team: Austin and Caldwell may be reluctant partners, but they manage to co-exist for the greater good and start making progress on their joint investigation despite their differences. They learn that Col. Lawrence is in cahoots with a former CIA operative Arthur Peale and that their relationship dates back to their time in Vietnam. The investigation also provides action opportunities, including a foot chase in Chinatown between Austin and Lawrence and arguably the most memorable scene in the movie when Sean Connery’s Lt. Col. Caldwell takes on Rick Zumwalt of Over the Top fame, using only his right thumb! There’s also a wet and wild shootout at the Black Mountain Water Company, which is at the center of the entire nefarious plot.
Equal parts action and mystery, with a good amount of personal drama thrown in, The Presidio is elevated by the mere presence of Sean Connery. Connery delivers as always and enhances everyone around him.
In today’s world after 19 seasons of NCIS, it is easy to see Mark Harmon as a member of law enforcement, but when The Presidio was first released back in June of 1988, Harmon was known for playing a doctor on TV and being the cool teacher in Summer School. But Harmon held his own playing opposite the legendary Connery and made for a believable cop, Harmon also had chemistry with the delightful Meg Ryan, who allowed us to see a different side of the two alpha males she found herself stuck between.
This is the portion of the review that is stuck between the Bullet Points and the Bonus Bullet Points…
- Familiar Faces: Patrick Kilpatrick of Death Warrant and Showdown fame, played Mark, the personal assistant of Mr. Peale… A clean shaven Allan Graf of Universal Soldier and RoboCop fame, played one of the workers at the Black Mountain Water Company… Peter Kwong of Never Too Young to Die and Big Trouble in Little China fame, played one of Austin’s fellow cops… And last but not least, Jack Warden played Sgt. Maj. Ross Maclure, the man who saved Caldwell in Vietnam and who remained a close friend to the Caldwell family ever since.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Mark Harmon nearly get run over by a Pepsi truck, then The Presidio is the movie for you.
- Reunited: Peter Hyams was the director of The Presidio. This was the second film Hyams directed that starred Sean Connery, the first being 1981’s Outland.
