Vantage Point review (gua.com.my)

Originally published in gua.com.my
21 February 2008


by Max Koh


Title:
Vantage Point

Ratings:
6/10

Cast:
Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Bruce McGill, Edgar Ramirez, Said Taghmaoui, Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt

Genre:
Action, Thriller

Review:
In “Vantage Point”, the attempted assassination of the US President is told from eight different perspectives.

Thomas Barnes (Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Fox) are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect US President Ashton (Hurt) who is in Spain for a landmark summit on global terrorism.

When he is shot at the summit and bombs go off, chaos ensues. Amongst the crowd is Howard Lewis (Whitaker), an American tourist who thinks he has captured the killer with his video camera.

Also at the scene is news producer Rex Brooks (Weaver) who has recorded the whole incident on camera with her news team.



A high-paced action thriller, “Vantage Point” explores the period before and right after the assassination attempt from the unique perspectives of eight key participants. They include the president, Secret Service agents and terrorists.

Beginning with the news producer’s, each viewpoint is like a piece of the puzzle falling into place, the truth being uncovered for audiences to see.

“If you were to follow only one story, you wouldn’t find out the truth about what really happened,” says director Pete Travis. “As you see each story, you see something else that you never knew before. It’s only when you get to the end that you figure out what really went on.”



Although the idea is not really new, the suspense will keep you at the edge of your seat. The “cliffhanger endings” for each perspective makes the experience only more intense as the events ‘rewind’ to reveal other viewpoints.

Along the way, you also get a cool car chase across the Spanish capital.



Dennis Quaid does an awesome job as the agent with a turbulent past. Forest Whitaker is lovable as the “citizen hero” who tries to save an innocent girl’s life while William Hurt embodies all the qualities of a certain US President.

My only gripe is Matthew Fox, whom I feel, was miscast for the role. He simply could not tackle the intensity of the character. I like him in “Lost” but here he does not deliver.
Like most US-ego-centric action movies, the US supremacy nuances are very much present in this film. Although the script does take a few jabs at the propaganda-driven mainstream media; a sentiment most local political bloggers can relate to.

However, it is not the intention of the film to be smart or preachy about the issues it delves on.



Like the narrative style it adopts, “Vantage Point” presents itself as a really good action thriller film. Not quite “The Constant Gardener”, but not as dumb as “Die Hard 4”.

Overall, “Vantage Point” delivers with the right amount of style and substance to entertain the first date but not enough to make a lasting impression.

Did you know?
Director Pete Travis was a social worker before he made movies. This attracted the attention of Whitaker, winner of 2006 Academy Award® for Best Actor for his portrayal in The King of Scotland, to star in this film.

Besides the Hollywood heavyweights, the film also feature international stars such as Spain’s Eduardo Noriega (star of “Abre los ojos”, the original version of “Vanilla Sky”), Israel’s Ayelet Zurer (“Munich”), France’s Saïd Taghmaoui (“La Haine”), and Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez (“The Bourne Ultimatum”).