Movies
Have You Ever Heard Of “The Presidio?”
It is a safe bet that less than 5% of the people clicking on this blog have heard of The Presidio (1988).
“A San Francisco civilian police detective is forced to work on a series of murders with his former enemy commanding officer while dating his daughter.”
Director: Peter Hyams
Writer: Larry Ferguson
Staring: Sean Connery, Mark Harmon, Meg Ryan
Release Date: June 10, 1988
IMDB
It is a safe bet that less than 5% of the people clicking on this blog have heard of The Presidio (1988). One could go as far as saying less than 25% of movie maniacs know The Presidio exists. Such is the case despite it staring Sir Sean Connery, the soon-to-be bankable Meg Ryan and the eventual TV star Mark Harmon.
Sad news for the former NCIS star, The Presidio did not have a lasting impact like his back of the head slaps. Mark Harmon tries to pull off classic Kevin Costner, but there is only one Kevin Costner. The swagger, the look, the charisma and the attempts at manly justified anger all wreak of a man who wants to wear a cowboy hat and shine his sheriff badge.
The worst example of this forced anger comes when he tells a military officer that he will “own his ass” when said high ranking man leaves the ground of the presidio. It is just not good
Harmon’s performance and insertion in The Presidio reminds me of a different television star tossed into a subpar movie and left to sink or swim. Jade (1995) is an erotic thriller that stars David Caruso of CSI Miami fame. Much like Harmon, Caruso had a hard time finding a footing in movies in the years after that initial tough break in the business.
Now back to regular scheduled programming.
And according to some reports, Costner was reached out to and even contracted to play the part. Imagine, what could have been. Costner reunites with Connery, trying to recapture the magic of The Untouchables (1987). What could have been.
I don’t think that Costner lost too much sleep over his decision. In 1988 he had Bull Durham come out, and a year later there was Field Of Dreams (1989). Don’t need to squeeze in a subpar crime drama to make a regrettable career choice sandwich.
Others rumored to have the part of Austin were Don Johnson and Alec Baldwin.
It’s fair to say that Connery didn’t give his absolute best effort acting wise in The Presidio. Now the part of Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell isn’t exactly mobile. There are a lot of moments where the respected military overlord is sitting/standing still delivering harping lines at either Austin or his daughter Donna. It is a stationary role, and Connery is able to elevate above the floor, but his energy seems sapped.
Now, who am I to judge the efforts of a legendary knighted dead man? If he was alive he would probably slap me across the face and send me to my room. But that’s my take.
Then there is Meg Ryan. She is the best part of the movie, but it also wasn’t what I was expecting at all. She is 26 years old in this movie and the character of Alan Caldwell’s daughter Donna is a grown up, but the storyline is very high school/college girl rebellion-esq. Alan doesn’t want Donna to see Austin, so she is going to do it because she wants to be independent and then Austin is put in the middle of this situation. Isn’t that all a tad bit childish? Seeing this storyline in adults threw me for a loop, and Meg Ryan is directly at the center of it.
Also, we have to address the elephant in the room. We are meant to believe that Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell played by Sean Connery is the father of Donna, who is played by Meg Ryan? This was just a miscasting. Donna doesn’t pick up the bonkers accent of her father in any way, shape or form? It is understandable to want to have a recognizable cast, but there is something off.
You as the reader might notice that there hasn’t been much about the plot of The Presidio. There is a reason for that. It is not very important. This is a criminal investigation case that pins two hard-nosed men against one-another despite having the same goal. Their grinding relationship creates extra sparks with a romance that is forbidden, at least from one person’s point of view.
There is absolutely no need to mention any ancillary characters or key evidence discovering sequences. The story takes a back seat
In good conscience, I can not recommend The Presidio. Those who do want to watch a disappointing late 80s drama, you can find the movie streaming on Paramount+.
STANKO RATING: D+
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Stanko's Stance 
Count me amongst the 5%. I enjoyed your review, and I definitely agree, Meg Ryan was the best thing about The Presidio.
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Thank you for reading, appreciate it!
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