Phillips & Pratt Preside Over Presidio
Whilst "Murder at the Presidio" is based on a true story it is also a made for TV movie. Now I know nothing of the true story on which this is based but I have watched more than my fair share of TV movies to say that rather than being an interesting dramatization of a true story this is a true story used as the base of a standard TV thriller. Everything about "Murder at the Presidio" is standard from thin characters and standard cinematography to a collection of typical scenes and elements from an attempted hit n run to a moment of romance. And that means that whilst not terrible "Murder at the Presidio" is just another TV movie.
After the wife of Sgt. Barry Atkins (Martin Cummins) is found murdered in her home, CWO James Chandler (Lou Diamond Phillips - Love Takes Wing) is called in to attend the crime scene and quickly finds the military police unwelcoming of his presence with only pretty Cpl. Tara Jeffries (Victoria Pratt - Her Fatal Flaw) welcoming him. Despite being taken off the case Chandler won't let it settle as he is determined to get to the bottom of the homicide and the cover up which is obviously going on.
Forget that "Murder at the Presidio" is based upon a true story and what you have is your bog standard military murder and investigation. We have Chandler finding the military not wanting him snooping, we have those who try to scare him off, we have the close shave when someone attempts to kill him and of course a bit of romance because a thriller without romance seems to be a no no these days. Oh and of course the twisted revelations that Chandler uncovers as he pokes his nose where it's not wanted.
So basically "Murder at the Presidio" is 100% typical and the only way it can be anything other is if you know the true story and can relate what you see on screen to what happened. Now as already mentioned I know nothing of the true story, actually that's a lie because I found out that the names were changed in the movie and so was the nature of the murder. But do you know what that doesn't surprise me as a lot of what goes on in "Murder at the Presidio" feels too movie typical rather than true life and I would imagine the only real facts are a woman was murdered and in the end the right people were caught, what went on in between on screen was made up.
That basically leaves the acting and characters which are as typical as everything else about the movie with flat characters and actors delivering lines with out the depth of actual characters. Yes it is nice to see a few familiar faces such as Lou Diamond Phillips, Jason Priestley and Leslie Easterbrook but their characters and performances are forgettable. In fact it is Victoria Pratt as Cpl. Tara Jeffries who grabs your attention because as the romantic interest she is pretty, cute and flirtatious which in truth says little about her character.
What this all boils down to is that whilst "Murder at the Presidio" may be based upon a true story the actual movie is just a standard TV thriller which whilst not terrible is forgettable. It is one of those movies you can put on and do other things whilst on without really missing much.
