"Vantage Point" (Sony Pictures)
The Eyes of the Beholders
“Vantage Point” is a movie with a good concept but it just gets played to death. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker and Sigourney Weaver as people who have a front row seat to an attempted Presidential assassination. When their and other stories are shown the audience ends up with the real picture of what happened. As with “Jumper,” the action is so fast moving that you don’t get a chance to think about the plot holes until later.
The President of the United States (William Hurt) is at a summit meeting on terrorism in a Middle Eastern country. Two of the Secret Service Agents guarding him are Tom Barnes (Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Fox). As they stand in front of him he is shot twice from a gunman in a building across the courtyard. Shortly thereafter there are two bombings in the vicinity.
Capturing all of this on film is GNN News. Director Rex Brooks (Weaver) is horrified by what she observes but keeps the cameras rolling throughout all the horrific events. Whitaker plays Howard Lewis, a tourist who videotapes the events.
The film starts with one viewpoint, or vantage point, and carries it forward for a few minutes then it rewinds and starts from another vantage point, each time going a little further with the story. This is done over and over for about six times. This is a little excessive and weakens the film.
Quaid is the outstanding actor in the film while Fox is the weakest. Both Hurt and Whitaker have some good moments. A group of unknown actors aptly bring to life the roles of the terrorists. They make the zeal and dedication to bringing down the President believable.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
There is a car chase sequence at the end of the film that is a wild and crazy ride. The photography is a little jittery here but the fun of the chase is one of the highlights of the movie. It seems like “Bullitt” time once again.
The film moves quickly and the suspense is palpable from start to finish. You don’t have time to question anything in the script but rather just have to go with the flow. And for that reason the film is a crowd pleaser. It is only later that you have doubts about who did what and why.
There are some unique aspects to “Vantage Point.” It has a Roshamon” tendency to over dissect the events, but getting a variety of views makes the movie what it is.
I scored “Vantage Point” a contradictory 6 out of 10.
