Vantage Point (2008)

Vantage Point - ''And the Oscar goes to......''This is not only a well crafted American political action thriller but an original motion picture in which the viewer quickly begins to feel that they are being stimulated by a complicated puzzle. Those of us who don't want to sit passively but require a real cerebral workout to satisfy our film expectations need to see Vantage Point. Action movies are a genre much overlooked by the Academy. Yet, while packing an astonishing amount into the 90 minutes, this is a film boasting a wealth of A-rated actors, fantastic cinematography and a novel way of exploring the heart stopping events of an afternoon in Spain.Since it was created by Columbia Pictures in 2008, ''Vantage Point'' has been a much underappreciated action-thriller, concerning an assassination attempt on the President of the United States, as seen from a different set of vantage points, through the eyes of the various characters. The story is told and retold from several different perspectives and right from the outset the onlooker is immediately put on edge when they are challenged intellectually. Although this was designed to be a commercial movie, what is achieved is an excellent production of a refreshingly novel script. The story unfolds in the beautiful town of Salamanca where President Ashton (previous Academy Award winner William Hurt) is about to address a landmark peace summit to halt global terrorism. Needless to say, there are protestors in the crowded square and various political factions intent on causing mayhem. As the President raises his arms into the air to greet the cheering crowd, shots ring out from an unknown source and the thrilling whodunit begins. The confusion is maximised as a small explosion causes panic and chaos in the square, closely followed by carnage as a large bomb is detonated.The leading character is Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) a harrowed looking man, back on his first day of active duty, protecting the president, following a nervous breakdown. Is he up to the job? Barnes is obviously a man intent on his mission but he is struggling with his own internal demons, having been shot, saving the president, in a previous attempted coup. Quaid is thoroughly deserving of an Oscar in this role for maintaining this anguished persona throughout. William Hurt brings much gravitas to the role of the president. Unlike the much acclaimed Bourne series, Vantage Point does not generally aim to consider issues of morality but Hurt does offer us a serious, dignified leader who, when asked to retaliate with missiles against the enemy (''Mr President we need to act strong''), he replies ''No we need to be strong. We need to be better than this''.Sigourney Weaver plays an effective cameo role at the beginning of the film as the director of outside news broadcasting. It is her footage which eventually gives the strongest clue to identify the enemy within the presumed secure zone. Forest Whittaker (The Last King of Scotland) plays a memorable part as Howard Lewis, a tourist who, estranged from is his wife and children, is on holiday making memories and fortunately using a camcorder which continues to roll as the complicated plot thickens. The director, British born, Pete Travis, whose previous work includes the TV mini-series Henry VIII and the highly regarded Omagh, offers us an engaging movie with a tough, down-to-earth feel whilst also requiring us to constantly think and rethink about what we're watching. Travis developed the perfect formula for action movies: powerful soundtracks, breakneck editing, dynamic camera work and powerful crash scenes.Vantage Point was generally met with negative critical reviews and at times it is predictable but personally I found it to be a triumph due to the sophisticated cinematography, the wealth of sublime acting talent and Pete Travis' magical ability to hold the tension to the end. This original action movie most certainly deserves to have been nominated for an Oscar or two.

The flashback redo from another point of view sometimes works good, if it is not overdone, like it was in this movie. Sigourney Weaver gives a very convincing performance as a news producer. When the reporter was knocked to the ground and appeared to maybe be dead, who was filming her for the news? Isn't there some point where the camera man must put the camera down and help out? This would have been a great movie had they simply did the thing with a plot and subplot in a chronological sequence, focusing on the character of the secret service agent, rather than play "Groundhog's Day" with it. Dennis Quaid? That was the best they could get? The flashback redo sequence served no real purpose. This would have been an even better film if a rouge Jason Bourne was the guy who came in and saved the President and then slipped out.

Columbia Pictures' Vantage Point introduces a new and unconventional take on the action/thriller genre. The multi-viewpoint perspective introduces a fresh form of story telling. The plot revolves around eight witnesses with eight different points of view trying to unlock the truth behind an assassination attempt on the President of the United States.While in Spain at a landmark peace summit against the global war on terror, President Aston faces a life-threatening assault as he takes to the stage. This is followed by a huge blast killing hundreds. Throughout the movie, one revisits this event through the eyes of several witnesses with their own set of stories and experiences. The story rewinds multiple times, each time portraying a new perspective. As you feel that the plot is clearing up, there is yet another dimension added to it and you realize that nothing is what it seems to be. However, after 3-4 occurrences of rewinds, one might get bored seeing the technique monotonously and the upcoming rewinds often become expected. One's patience drops as the story keeps revolving on the same scene instead of moving ahead.The experience is like putting a puzzle together, piece by piece, but just when you think you have figured out the real scene, the entire scenario changes. It is beautiful to see how the various events described throughout converge to the same point. The innovative way of story telling and the clean editing surely deserves commendation. Have a little patience, and you will be enthralled by the engrossing mystery that slowly unwinds.

I liked the story being pieced together as it was, seeing the same scenario again and again from different angles actually worked out better then I had expected. It is maybe not new, but it really worked out and having so many multiple interpretations is a fun aspect.The film in itself is an okay action/crime/thriller, even with the many great actors it doesn't become more then that. The process of the film must however have taken a lot of time, planning all the shots, the angles and engineering it all to fit together at the end, very nicely done.I think it was good and entertaining and I really don't know what they should have done more to make it more.