Vantage Point
Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 106 August 2008
(1 votes, average: 9 out of 10)
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All the President’s men…
The Lowdown: When the US President is shot at a counter-terrorism summit in Salamanca, Spain, his bodyguards, Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) and Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid), leap into action. But, can they discover the identity of the shooter amid the carnage, or will the widespread confusion throw them off the scent?
Review: Previous post-9/11 ‘war on terror’ movies have been conspicuous by their awkward, heavy-handedness and hand-wringing morality. By virtue of the fact that it is actually entertaining, Vantage Point is arguably one of the most impressive offerings yet! If In The Line Of Fire updated for a post-‘24’ audience sounds like your kind of movie, then you should grab yourself a piece of the action. However, if you’re dissuaded by the idea of a bombastic slice ‘n’ dice thriller crammed with bland character actors, then you might want to look away now…
Everyone was waiting to see what the islanders would do after ‘Lost’, and, as expected, Matthew Fox draws first blood, heading the Vantage Point cast as a calm, collected Presidential bodyguard. The role isn’t a particularly taxing one, but Fox acquits himself effectively enough. The rest of the ensemble cast are similarly well-judged, even if they all play second fiddle to the narrative trickery itself (where we see events from numerous people’s perspectives, piecing together what actually happened). A haggard-looking Sigourney Weaver plays a ruthless TV producer overseeing the afternoon’s events. Dennis Quaid impresses as a tormented bodyguard, whose last assignment very nearly ended in tragedy (when he took a bullet for the President). Forest Whitaker stars as gentle giant tourist Howard Lewis, who becomes sucked into the mystery when he unwittingly captures some of the action on his camcorder. The ‘unknown’ actors (Eduardo Noriega, Edgar Ramirez, Ayelet Zurer, Said Taghmaoui) are far more impressive, fleshing out the storyline and distracting you from the abundance of familiar faces elsewhere. The characterisations may seem two-dimensional at first glance, but the characters do actually evolve better than expected as the film progresses at its own break-neck pace.
What feels slightly stale and underwhelming at first quickly becomes riveting and unpredictable. The unexpected degree of Bourne-style action helps to keep the energy up, and you will barely notice the smattering of dodgy plot-holes and inconsistencies as the proceedings hurtle towards their strangely neat conclusion. Whether Vantage Point would be quite as absorbing without its narrative trickery is a moot point, but it certainly pushes the right buttons, wrapping up all of the character’s disparate lives into a tightly-wound bundle, and stretching out the suspenseful moments until they’re taut. Just for good measure, sure-footed British director Pete Travis and novice American screenwriter Barry L. Levy lob a handful of effective twists into the melting pot, most of which hit the spot.
Unfortunately, the special features leave a lot to be desired. The director’s audio commentary is averagely informative, but the three very short behind-the-scenes featurettes are too short for their own good. The bizarre ‘Surveillance Tapes’ skit sees Travis himself bursting out of the smoke shooting a firearm, and it’s safe to say he should stick to the other side of the camera!
All in all Pete Travis deserves kudos for actually making a mainstream thriller that strives to think outside of the box. It may not be entirely successful but Vantage Point is a cerebral, chaotic action spectacular that definitely warrants a look in.
FILM: 7
EXTRAS: 5
DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver
Directed By: Peter Travis, 2008
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 90mins
Price: £19.99
Special Features:
Scene Selection
Audio Commentary With Director Pete Travis
‘Surveillance Tapes’ Skit
‘Co-ordinating Chaos’ Featurette
‘Trick Geography’ Featurette
‘Enhancing The View’ Featurette
