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Vantage Point is a film that's all about its concept. Thankfully, it's a pretty interesting one. The plot focuses on the assassination of the American President at a public appearance in Spain, but the original twist is that the film presents the events from multiple viewpoints, following one character's experience to its conclusion before rewinding in time and looking at another. The "multiple viewpoints" conceit has been used before, most notably in Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, but that film only looked at three characters; in Vantage Point there are at least seven. While the approach risks over-repetition, and the resulting film is certainly not without flaws, it is an intriguing and unusual angle on the action thriller.
Helping the film's cause is a strong ensemble cast, featuring the underrated Dennis Quaid in what can ultimately be defined as the leading role, as well as Forest Whitaker as an American tourist who captures the events on a camcorder, William Hurt as the President and Sigourney Weaver as a frantic TV director. As the film shows us each of their stories in turn, it slowly and cleverly builds up a picture of what has happened, and not everything is predictable (although suspicions about a certain twist may surface in some viewers early on). Unfortunately for the film, it doesn't have the confidence to carry its central multiple angles premise to its conclusion - the final act intercuts between the various strands like it's going out of fashion. It's not a horrendous flaw, but when the random cutting between strands starts it is initially a little jarring as it counteracts what we have become used to over the previous hour or so. The film would surely have been more satisfying if it had revealed its plot revelations while still sticking to its original formula. Not much would need to be changed other than the order in which the scenes are edited together; indeed, a fan with Adobe Premiere and a little too much time on their hands could quite easily re-edit the film into a thriller that retained the multiple storylines gimmick until the denouement, while still not giving the game away too soon.
Moving past the film's primary selling point, Vantage Point is a well-directed film – the debut feature from Brit Pete Travis – that keeps the action coming at a constant rate. The film concludes with an excellent and protracted car chase that borrows a few ideas from Bourne franchise but manages not to feel overly stale. The film is far too overblown and ridiculous to succeed as a serious political thriller, which references to the War on Terror suggest that it is attempting to be, but a brisk pace, enjoyable action and an innovative, if slightly squandered, premise mean that Vantage Point is pretty decent popcorn fodder.
The summary
Vantage Point doesn't make as much use of its editing gimmick as it should but it's still entertaining, and worth a cinema visit given the relative paucity in similar fare of late.
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