The Presidio (1987) from Tuna and Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

The Presidio (1988) is a mismatched cop whodunit with a better-than-usual cast which includes Sean Connery, Mark Harmon and Meg Ryan. Connery is the Provost Martial at The Presidio, a very old fort in the Northwest corner of San Francisco. Mark Harmon used to work for him as an MP. When Harmon roughed up an officer while arresting him for drunk and disorderly, Connery took the officer's side, and Harmon left the Army and became a city cop. When a female MP and two SFPD officers are murdered, it is a multi-jurisdictional investigation, and the two enemies must work together. To make things even more difficult, Harmon starts dating Connery's daughter.

Sometimes, viewers bring something which greatly increases their enjoyment of a film, and that was the case with me and this film. I am a big Connery fan, and this part feels like it was written for him. I also like Meg Ryan. The biggest thing to me, however, is the location. I spend a lot of time where this film was shot. In an early scene, they mention Fort Point, which is a very old fort under the south end of the Golden Gate. The murder takes place at an officer's club on the Presidio, a building I drive by frequently. The ensuing car chase, where the officers are killed, starts at the Arquello Gate, which is at the south end of the Presidio, and is the gate I most often use, as it is a nearly direct route to Wing Lee's Chinese Restaurant and Bakery, our usual lunch when we are in "The City." There are also two scenes in the veteran's cemetery at the North edge of the Presidio. In fact, I not only recognized all of the areas in the film, I knew most of the buildings. The Presidio is now mostly a national park, as is Fort Point. So, to me, watching the film is a wonderful experience.

For those with no predisposition to enjoy it, it is probably a competent but lackluster genre effort. There is nothing particularly remarkable about the plot or the ending, which, in fact, is predictable.

The Presidio is a pretty standard cop procedural involving mismatched partners forced to co-operate on a murder investigation. The "hook" of the film is that it involves overlapping jurisdiction between civilian and military justice, and the expected turf war is exacerbated by personal bad blood between the Army investigator and the civilian detective.

The investigation is headed up by a San Francisco cop (Mark Harmon) who used to be a military M.P., working under the very crusty old Lieutenant Colonel (Sean Connery) whose co-operation he now needs. The two men don't get along, based on a past incident involving a corrupt Colonel whom Harmon manhandled during an investigation. There are two other matters which complicate the plot further:

• The evidence in the murder investigation is starting to point to the same sleazy Colonel who was responsible for Harmon's having left the Army in the first place. (Isn't that convenient?)

• Harmon is hitting on Connery's daughter (Meg Ryan).

SPOILERS:

You probably won't have any trouble figuring out who the real villain is if you remember two key facts:

1. Most trite murder mysteries end up pointing the finger at the character who seems least likely to be guilty.

2. The rule of economy of characters in formula screenplays says that no random characters exist in a film or play - they will eventually have some plot-related purpose.

When you have those two factors added together, you can be sure that if a police investigator has an incredibly loveable old best friend who gets a lot of screen time for no reason, you can bet that the loveable old codger is really Moriarty.

END SPOILERS:

Although the murder mystery is not engaging, the chemistry between Harmon, Ryan, Connery and Jack Warden makes the film an easy enough - if totally unoriginal - watch. You won't remember much about the film a few days after you watch it, but it won't cause you any major pain either.