‘Vantage Point’ Will Keep You On The Edge
‘Vantage Point’ is a political thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat and keeps you guessing at each twist and turn. The movie focuses a lot on the action aspect of the movie – which will blow your mind.
The movie starts with the President of the U.S. (William Hurt) showing up at an anti-terrorism summit conference in Salamanca, Spain. Things quickly go downhill when he is shot down by a sniper. In a riveting opening sequence worthy of John Frankenheimer at his prime, this assassination - and two bomb explosions that further turn the scene into chaos - is seen from the point of view of the director (Sigourney Weaver) of a television news team covering the meeting.
But when it’s done, the movie rewinds 15 minutes and then sees the same events from the point of view of a nervous Secret Service agent (Dennis Quaid) who may or may not have glimpsed the assassin just moments before the shooting. Then the movie rewinds again and shows us the sequence from the point of view of a Spanish cop (Edgar Ramirez) who leaps onto the presidential podium after the assassination, is chased by the Quaid character and may or may not be involved in the conspiracy.
Finally the movie rewinds again and shows the 15 pertinent minutes from the point of view of the president, and then yet again from the perspective of an American tourist (Forest Whitaker) who accidentally takes a Zapruder-like video of the assassination.
With each of the perspectives, the story is skillfully and enticingly enhanced, and then the movie segues into an epic - and wonderfully complex - chase sequence that cuts between all the participants as it rushes to an explosive conclusion.
‘Vantage Point’ may not have the elements it needs to make it a blockbuster hit – but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good movie to check out in theatres. First-time feature director Pete Travis - coming off a string of TV hits in Ireland - has put together a scary, endlessly surprising and very satisfying movie that keeps our intellect engaged and our butts well on the edge of our seats for 90 gripping minutes.