Vantage Point

First time director Peter Travis takes a gimmicky approach on his debut feature film, Vantage Point, employing a clumsy stop-and-go storytelling device. However, despite fumbling through frustrating territory, he manages to redeem himself and crafts an enjoyable picture.

    The action of Vantage Point takes place on a single day (probably within a half-hour or so of real time) in Madrid, Spain, the setting for a world-changing summit. World leaders of the Western and Arab worlds are meeting to form a united front against international terrorism. The atmosphere in the Plaza Mayor is charged with anxiety, but hopeful. However, as the US President (William Hurt) stands ready to make his landmark speech at the podium, shots ring out, and—as is often the case in such movies—the shit hits the fan. There’s confusion, and soon after the president is shot, the rumbling of a distant explosion sends the stunned crowd into frenzy. Still reeling from the shock of the day’s tragic events, another explosion decimates the historic plaza. Through all the smoke and chaos, there are witnesses, each with a different piece of the puzzle.



    Vantage Point begins by offering the viewpoints of different characters caught up in the attack. There’s the news crew headed by Sigourney Weaver; an American tourist (Forest Whitaker); a Madrid policeman (Eduardo Noriega); a hardboiled Secret Service agent (Thomas Barnes, played by Dennis Quaid); the US president; and, finally, those behind the attack. As each piece of the puzzle is revealed, the film “rewinds” back to the beginning of the sequence of events and shifts to another “vantage point.” This really halts momentum. The rewind usually happens at the moment of some major revelation or when the action reaches a fever pitch. It’s an interesting idea to be sure, and perhaps crisper execution would have made it more intriguing, but it only seemed to weigh Vantage Point down.

    Despite spinning its wheels for a large portion of the first half of the movie, once Vantage Point gets going, it’s actually pretty good. After jumping from character to character, the film settles down into a more typical action flick, and in that regard, it works very well. The camera work is sharp and creates excellent tension. Scenes such as an epic car chase that proves to be Vantage Point’s centerpiece are filmed with unbridled urgency. And though this is an ensemble film, Dennis Quaid stands out. A mix between Jack Bauer and Master Chief, his Agent Barnes wears a permanent scowl. He has already taken a bullet in service of the president and is relentlessly loyal, charmingly corny and absolutely indestructible. Gunshots, car crashes and advanced age are incapable of slowing him down. Don’t try to kill his president, because Barnes will find you.

    There’s a lot to be said for keeping it simple. For all its razzle-dazzle, Vantage Point’s storytelling device doesn’t enhance, or provide added insight into, the film, and so it seems unnecessary. People don’t go to action thrillers for clever tricks; they go for explosions, and not just the same one shown four times over. If you’re the kind of moviegoer who likes to arrive fashionably late or make frequent trips to the concession stand, you’ve finally found your ideal film. Just make sure you're in your seat for the second half.

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