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| Cast and Credits |
| Cast: |
Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt |
| Director: |
Pete Travis |
| Writer: |
Barry L. Levy |
| Rating: |
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language. |
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Reviewed By: Brendan Cullin
Rating: 7/10
Vantage Point is the story of the assassination of the President of the United States during a speech at a terrorism summit in Spain. William Hurt plays President Ashton, the man who is shot as he is about to take the podium to denounce terrorism. Unfortunately, talking about terrorism upsets the terrorists and they hatch a complicated plan that will rid the world of their number one nemesis. The movie shows us 8 different perspectives from 8 different people in the 20 minutes leading up to the assassination. It is from these 8 different points of view that we are supposed to piece together what really happened on that fateful day in Spain.
Besides William Hurt, Vantage Point stars the likes of Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox as two Secret Service agents, Forest Whitaker as an unsuspecting tourist who gets thrown into the middle of the tragedy and Sigourney Weaver, as a short-tempered TV producer.
I made the mistake of visiting the website, Rotten Tomatoes, before I went to see Vantage Point to help with a bit of a dilemma I was experiencing - go see Vantage Point or go see the Toronto Maple Leafs probably lose. Despite the fact that Vantage Point had a measley 29% rating when I took a look at the website, I opted to see the movie. For the record, the Leafs lost - and the movie turned out to be not so bad. I'm sure it's not going to blow many people away and it certainly won't be mentioned on anyone's list of the best movies of the year come December 2008 but it's not as bad a movie as many tight-ass critics will no doubt lead you to believe. Vantage Point does have some moments of suspense, some moments of shock, some pretty good excitement and at least one surprise that anyone who says they could see it coming are sure to be lying to your face. Sure there is some horrible dialogue at the end of the movie. And sure, it features one of the most ludicrous car chases in the history of film - one that left not a single person even injured but in reality would have maimed and crippled at least 500 people.
Nevertheless, if you're able to look past the small handful of ridiculous moments and just sit back and enjoy a nicely paced movie that looks like someone at least tried to put a little thought into the script, well, Vantage Point will turn out to be not that bad of a movie. Like I said, it's not going to set the world of cinema on fire but when all is said and done, it's a decent 90 minutes in a theatre that at least requires you to think a little (but not too much) and will leave you more entertained than you might expect or are led to believe.
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