Movie Review - Vantage Point

It seems like eons ago that the advertising campaign began for the political action-thriller Vantage Point.  Boasting an ensemble cast of Hollywood heavyweights, including the likes of Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, William Hurt, Forest Whitaker, and Sigourney Weaver; Vantage Point tells the some cliched story of an assassination attempt on the President of the United States in a not-so-cliched way.  What is the gimmick?  Look no further than the title, as director Pete Travis tells this tale of intrigue through the vantage points of each of the movie's characters eyes.  Dennis Quaid plays Thomas Barnes, a secret service agent assigned to President, who harbors the demons presented from a recent incident on the job.  His friend and partner, Kent Taylor, is played by the highly underrated Matthew Fox whose recent success with the television show Lost has finally garnered him the movie offers he deserves.  The movies strong points (acting wise), however, are given by all-star Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and William Hurt.  The idea behind the multiple perceptions of this single event was no doubt inspired by the Akira Kurosawa classic Rashomon, but that certainly isn't a bad thing.  In a day and age where theaters seem to be dominated with sequels and remakes, maybe using an old formula to inspire something new is a positive thing.  From start to finish, the movie is a non-stop action thriller that lives up to the trailer that has been advertising the film for close to year now.  This trailer, however, is what ultimately hurts this film the most.  The trailer for Vantage Point pretty much tells the entire story in the short 2 and a half minutes that it runs, and for those who pay attention to details, even ruins plenty of twists and surprises.  That having been said, Vantage Point is definitely a film worth seeing,even if it is only for the performances turned in by Hurt and Whitaker.  It truly is exciting from start to finish, something that doesn't happen too often in film nowadays, but then again it did come from an unproduced script for a 24 movie and we all know Mr. Bauer loves his action.

Vantage Point

** and a half

Dir. Pete Travis