DVD : Vantage Point [2008]

Rating: - Exciting technically proficient thriller with redundant emotional clout.
One of the stars of Vantage Point-Dennis Quaid - has described the film as a "Kind of Rashomon [1950] [Special Edition]" alluding to the films method of showing the same 23 minute loop of time from several different perspectives. Whoah there Dennis , don't get carried away . Structurally , though he kind of has a point though in terms of quality these two films while not chalk and cheese are definitely wildly varying qualities of cheddar.
Vantage Point takes place at an anti -terrorism summit in Salamanca ,Spain( though most of the film was actually shot in Mexico) where the American President Ashton ( William Hurt) is making a speech. He is shot , a bomb goes off , general chaos ensues as you would expect. We, the audience, then to see events from the differing empirical perspective of six different characters- Television news producer Rex Brooks ( Sigourney Weaver) , US secret service agents Thomas Barnes( Dennis Quaid ) and Kent Taylor( Matthew Fox) Spanish police officer Enrique( Eduardo Noriega) American tourist Howard Lewis( Forest Whittaker) the terrorists and the president himself.
As the differing viewpoints of events unfold we learn more about the characters and incremental details and nuances of the terrorist plot and its participants. Things we see from one persons viewpoint turn out to mean something else altogether when seen from another's. As the tangled machinations of the plot are gradually unfurled Vantage Point resorts increasingly into generic thriller mode with car chases( very well done mind) gun fights ( again well done) and lots of running around ( errrrr.....)
It,s very far fetched though but proficiently directed and well acted by the quality cast though Dennis Quaid looks to be suffering from severe heartburn throughout. I rather regretted the fact that writer Barry Levy chose to take the script into mawkish soap territory with Forest Whitaker's character undergoing some cathartic healing process through looking after a young Spanish girl. Cute though this is it does,nt belong in this film. Plus the redemptive feel good apple pie ending misjudges the tone of the film giving it a syrupy denouement that jars .
I,m also confused about what the film is trying ultimately to say. Is is that one event seen only from one perspective can never be as cut and dried as we are led to believe or that no matter how well you plan, determined terrorist( we never learn the cause they espouse in this film ) acts are impossible to prevent? Either way from my vantage point this is a technically clever and exciting film that has to rely on a cute little girl to give it some real heart which is where this plot fails.

---

Rating: - mind blowing!!
What a heart pounding thriller. Plots about assassinations are always exciting but this had a particular twist to it, being that the same event was repeated from different character's perspectives. What follows is a hair-raising helter skelter of events, each character noticing different significant moments that no one else knew of. A really good film and some stunning performances from Quaid and Hurt.

---

Rating: - Mayhem in Salamanca
"Vantage Point" is an entertaining but totally implausable action film set in the Spanish city of Salamanca. A double of the US President is shot at an anti terror conference of world leaders and amidst further bombings and shootings in the vicinity an intricate plot to abduct the real US President unfolds. The terrorist plot is quite brilliantly coordinated , but it is so highly unlikely that belief has to be suspended by the viewer. This suspension continues during a remarkable car chase through the city streets in which a US Secret Service agent pursues suspected terrorists without sustaining any serious injury. "Vantage Point" is exciting and gripping to watch but the plot is far fetched to the point of incredulity.

---

Rating: - Exciting but Obvious
President Ashton(William Hurt)is assassinated at a political summit in Salamanca,Spain.Seasoned Secret Service Agent Thomas Barnes(Dennis Quaid) and his collegues are in a race against time to uncover the perpetrators whose very careful plans include a bribed special forces operative,a compromised bodyguard and several explosive devices.
Rashomon like thriller(the same event from several perspectives)is fast paced,well acted(even if Quaid is starting to look like he is permanently constipated)and pretty exciting.The twists,save one, are all extremely obvious.The "mole" is so obvious that it serves only to reduce the tension rather than ramp it up.
Still a bravura finsh,worthy of the bourne series and a resourceful POTUS makes Vantage Point alot of fun.

---

Rating: - Tugging at the Heartstrings
The big problem I have with this film is that by the end, I didn't really give two hoots about the President and whether he lives or dies. But I was really concerned about what was going to happen to the little girl.