Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
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.
The Presidio is a fairly by-the-numbers late-80s action thriller that blends military politics with a buddy-cop dynamic and a murder mystery. The plot is functional but predictable, relying on well-worn genre conventions — the clash-of-authority duo, the forbidden romance subplot, and a mystery that doesn't particularly surprise. Sean Connery brings his usual commanding presence and Mark Harmon holds his own, giving the acting a modest lift above what the script deserves. The San Francisco and Presidio locations are capably shot but not distinguished. There's little here that feels genuinely fresh or distinctive — it's a solid time-capsule genre piece but firmly derivative of its era. The resolution is competent but unsatisfying, wrapping up without much dramatic punch.