‘Vantage Point’ delivers thrills, yet weakened by repetitive approach
Assassination thriller full of action, but is lacking big picture
Posted on February 25, 2008
“Vantage Point,” an assassination thriller by nature, tries to go above and beyond the call of duty by offering a high-minded concept: the examination of the same horrific event from the perspectives of different people.
It is set in Salamanca, Spain with U.S. President Ashton (played by William Hurt) preparing to announce a major international anti-terrorism agreement. The public square Ashton plans to use as a forum serves as the primary setting, bringing all the characters together and anchoring the action for the first part of the movie.
The first 15 minutes of the film are filtered through the perspective of news producer Rex (played by Sigourney Weaver, whose skill and presence is wasted in little more than an extended cameo), who deftly directs the coverage of President Ashton’s announcement. The film’s premise is clarified as we watch her tell the cameramen where to focus and what to ignore; it’s not about differing perspectives so much as different pieces to the puzzle.
After approaching the podium, the president is shot twice, an explosion is heard in the distance, and then another explosion rocks the plaza. The film then rewinds to 12:00 and replays the action from the point of view of Thomas Barnes (played by Dennis Quaid), a Secret Service agent who up until now has been inactive after taking a bullet for President Ashton.
The film rewinds again. Then again.
While it’s a way of stressing the concept of different vantage points, the rigorous structure seems a bit forced. Each segment ends with the same shot and begins with the same black screen and clock, and the repetition begins to wear on the viewer.
After several of these, the film rewinds one last time and uses one last run-through to put together all the pieces before continuing to the finale. It’s in this middle part that the film has the most strength, and the time invested by the audience pays off more so than in the actual resolution of the story.
“Vantage Point” is not necessarily an ensemble piece so much as a fractured mainstream thriller with a less unified cast. Despite the fact that it devotes much time and energy to several people’s experiences, it is definitely action driven and the hints of character development seem like a tease, leaving you wanting more.
The most fully sketched character is President Ashton, who we see consulting with his advisers in one of the few dialogue-driven scenes. As played by the vaguely authoritative Hurt, he functions in the story like the king on a chessboard: powerful in name and the end goal for some, but largely impotent as the action around him plays out.
As complex as the story is, the actual resolution is a letdown and the plot itself suffers from some weak points. President Ashton’s storyline revolves around a plot device that could be intriguing but is laughable in context because of the weak setup — a single throwaway line from one of his advisers. There is also a subplot — or are they all subplots? — of a lost little girl which seems a trite way to throw in more emotion.
The film marks the directorial debut of Pete Travis, a veteran of television in the United Kingdom. Travis does a commendable job of navigating us through what might have been a bewildering experience.
There are mis-steps, though. At several points in the film, certain cinematic effects seem a heavy-handed way of creating pathos or suspense. Several lines in the film are unintentionally laughable. Forest Whitaker gives an authentic performance as a bewildered everyman, but his part in the film seems irrelevant, if not contrived. This becomes obvious when he needlessly injects himself into the action, attempting to follow the story.
In the last 20 minutes, a unified resolution is pursued with reckless abandonment and subtlety flies out the window. A car chase through the streets of Salamanca is offered as the main centerpiece of the finale, but the high action it offers can’t help but seem ripped off from the “Bourne” films.
And as interesting as the how might be, there is absolutely no why. The terrorists’ motives are shady at best, and their cause seems nonexistent. The picture lacks meaningful cohesion.
Rumors have circulated on the Internet that “Vantage Point” was actually inspired by an unused “24” movie draft. It certainly seems so, as Quaid’s craggy, scowling Secret Service agent certainly evokes the spirit of Jack Bauer but with the badass factor dialed down. You’ll find yourself rooting for him, but you won’t know exactly why. Matthew Fox on the other hand, is miscast as Quaid’s fellow agent, and his character would have been better served by an actor with more, well, character.
“Vantage Point” certainly deserves credit for delivering on an intriguing concept even if the execution is not perfect. The intersecting narratives are undeniably exciting to watch in the moment. For the price of a matinee, it’s not a bad way to spend 90 minutes.
