Intense political actioner

At its core, Vantage Point is a hybrid creation: an amalgamation of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon and the hit television series 24. In fact the film could effortlessly be perceived as a sibling of 24 as it contains intense political drama, terrorism, the President of the United States in peril, and a fairly convoluted conspiracy to uncover. Mind you, what's missing is Jack Bauer (although, to be fair, it does star Matthew Fox who plays a Jack on TV's Lost).

Vantage Point is an imaginative, frantic, nail-biting, gripping political actioner that spends its 90-minute duration illuminating one series of events from different perspectives. Personally, I found the film extremely flawed but underrated. I was dubious to approach the film due to the largely mixed reviews. However, this is an above average attempt at a killer concept. While the film feels incomplete and occasionally thoroughly preposterous, it achieves its goal of providing entertainment. The opening few scenes will successfully reel in a viewer due to the intriguing and compelling nature of the story unfolding. The filmmakers cleverly adopt an effective approach to lensing the action that resembles such modern action films as The Bourne Ultimatum. While this exercising of quick cuts and shaky cam has grown tiring over the years, here it's actually fruitful in its engagement of the audience.

The fundamental story concerns an attempted assassination on the President of the United States, Henry Ashton (Hurt). This basic premise is enlightened with a series of differing perspectives, mirroring recent films like Crash with a slight drop of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon moulded into the story.
At a landmark summit on the global war on terror in Spain, President Ashton is gunned down. The film then concerns the chaotic ensuing events as the manhunt commences for the shooter. The film primarily involves the proceedings that initiate at midday and conclude 23 minutes later. Bits are replayed from various perspectives: this includes viewpoints of Secret Service agents (Fox, Quaid), President Ashton, an American tourist (Whitaker), journalists and even the terrorists themselves.

Vantage Point is approached with a high level of technical aptitude. Running at a brisk running time of about 90 minutes, the director keeps events taut and engaging. Most commendably, the director is skilled at keeping constant visual continuity. We witness events from multiple angles...sometimes up to even 10 viewpoints courtesy of the media, surrounding buildings, and the various civilians on the ground mixed in the chaos. The intensity and turmoil following bomb detonations and bullets fired is enough to echo the collapse of the World Trade Center on that fateful day in 2001. The final 20 minutes shift the film's tone from drama to action. There's a terrifically filmed car chase blended with various other action-packed happenings.

However, the film's primary faults are in its script. At times the dialogue sounds natural, but at other times contrived. At several times you'll be tempted to laugh at the dialogue. For example, Quaid's Agent Barnes finds the President heavily bleeding. Barnes inquires "Are you injured?" The multiple story-line approach does work to an extent, but only selected characters are delved into in any degree of depth. We're supposed to care about the various characters as we watch their stories; however it's impossible with insignificant time allocated for character development. As typical betrayals happen, we never understand why. Then there are the loose ends. We become so involved in all the excess supporting characters without a pay-off. Some characters appear to be established in the opening scenes...only to disappear entirely. Because these characters are slightly developed, we become curious about them. There are too many questions without answers.

I also briefly mentioned the stupidity of the film. Towards the final confrontation, things become extremely silly as characters are quick to draw guns on each other, and the stunt driving for the final car chase is too unbelievable. Another thing is the failure to give the story any level of credibility. We never believe the story for a single minute simply because the concept could never happen. And then of course the clichés are also in place, like the never-ending clips in firearms and a customary character betrayal. Yes, the film is entertaining...it's just too silly to live up to its full potential.

Dennis Quaid is no Kiefer Sutherland. Where Sutherland in TV's 24 has a deep voice and instils incredible intensity to a situation, Quaid usually falls flat. Matthew Fox found fame in the television series Lost. I never liked his acting in that show, and I still don't like his acting here. He simply takes himself too seriously and his eagerness always shines through in all of his acting. Forest Whitaker is an Oscar-winning actor who never appears to do much in the film. He has a video camera, yes, but the rest of the film he's endlessly pursuing people and trying to help. The screenwriter never grants him a moment to shine. Whitaker's relationship with a young girl also feels out of place and superfluous. Also in the supporting cast there's William Hurt, Edgar Ramirez and a cameo appearance of Sigourney Weaver. Many of these actors are underused.

Overall, Vantage Point has its flaws but it's an extremely entertaining movie. The competency behind the camera is palpable with solid direction and an ear-shattering sound mix. The action is frequent and exciting, even if there isn't much point to it. Maybe with more depth and a heightened intelligence level the film could have achieved its potential.
Vantage Point, which was initially dosed in realism, enigmatically shifts its mood in the concluding 15 minutes; staggering into clichéd action-thriller territory with a car chase that, while exhilarating, does not seem appropriate. Likewise, you'll undeniably snigger as Quaid belies the realism, becomes indestructible and, once the action has receded, conveys some of the cheesiest lines this on side of Top Gun. Sadly the film loses its grip and abandons the brutal tone. This film merely reminds us how fantastic the Jason Bourne franchise is for its virtually unequalled ability to have never crossed the line.

7.1/10