[rating=2.00]
Vantage Point has what is probably the best action trailer in recent memory, forcing you to seek out the full flick. The only problem is that the film does little to fill you in on those questions rattling inside your brain. Instead it preys on your want for explosions, car chases and everything else you come to expect of an action movie. While this is done well it’s at the expense of any sort of a plot or character development. The movie is helmed by Pete Travis who seems to arrived at of nowhere but somehow has chops as an action director. If only he knew what a good script was.
The film tells the story of an assassination attempt on the President from five different perspectives or "vantage points." The President is visiting Spain for a Global War on Terror summit, but that’s as far as the film reaches into current events, which may have been the only smart choice the film-makers made. Dennis Quaid plays Agent Barnes, arguably the central character of the film, a Secret Service agent recently reinstated following being shot during a previous attempt made on the President’s life. What never becomes clear is why this President (played by the incredibly stoic William Hurt) has had more attempts on his life than any recent President despite his over the top "world peace" attitude–also devoid in any recent President leader. These are questions better left unasked when entering this film.
The movie begins with each character’s "vantage point" and then rewinds EVERY time and starts over again with a new character’s story. Judging by the snickering audible throughout the theater, I wasn’t the only one tired of this scenario by the second time. However, after all five POVs are run through–beginning before the summit and ending soon after the shots are fired–the formula is soon discarded and the second half plays like any other action movie. It’s refreshing to have a linear time-line after the "vantage point" so obviously failed, but it becomes confusing as to what the point of having them were in the first place was if they have no bearing on how the film resolves itself. Again, questions like these are probably better left unasked.
What the film has going for itself is that it does have some pretty good car chase scenes and some good camera work. But it appears as if there were two different versions of the script and both were hastily pasted together. It’s an in-the-moment story with little to no background on the characters or the story that is playing out. That’s all good and fine but when a lot of what drives the story and the characters’ decisions is contingent upon what happened before this one day, then you start to feel confused and cheated.
Not only is absolutely nothing explained (and I mean NOTHING) the movie is just one long tale of coincidences where characters show up on cue and on time. It crossed the line of being a slightly unbelievable shoot-em up and becomes a film where Dennis Quaid just won’t die. If only the writers had abandoned the entire "vantage point" scheme and set out on writing a straight-forward action-thriller they may have actually achieved something that could have been respectable. There are seeds for a great story and (most of) the characters are interesting on the surface but all of that is lost in a sophomoric media stunt to get you into the theater. So don’t ruin the trailer by actually seeing the movie.
