Vantage Point, 2008

Vantage point, 2008
Director: Pete Travis
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forrest Whitaker


Vantage point in short: The President of the United States is in Salamanca, Spain, about to address the city in a public square. We see a plain-clothes cop, his girlfriend with another man, a mother and child, an American tourist with a video camera, and a Secret Service agent newly returned from medical leave. Shots ring out and the President falls; a few minutes later, we hear a distant explosion, then a bomb goes off in the square. Those minutes are retold, several times, emphasizing different characters' actions. Gradually, we discover who's behind the plot.


Stage: Home TV selection

Preps: I have seen this piece at the movies in 2008 and I am more than happy to catch it again. I loved the investigating part and I hope to see some more action that I missed in the cinema.


Reality: Some movies are better if you see them two or three times. You are not really paying attention all the time and if you like this genre, or any form of CSI put into a movie (or if you loved JFK for instance), you will want to see it several times - this one, I mean.

It's a superb setting, one of re-makes of assasination attempts, in my opinion, the best one after JFK with Kevin Costner. Quaid is presented as the hard core investigator that digs the truth out of the scenes. The assasination is filmed from 8 different perspectives and each time you receive new information that overruns the facts you knew from the last perspective. The flow of the movie is unique, as it keeps your attention most of the time and your brain cells wondering, what is the truth behind this. The topic is assuring and safe, because people love to watch assasination attempts in a movie - especially if everything is smooth - the cast, the flow of the story, the photography. The scenery is brilliant, photography vivid and overall I have a strong deep recommendation for this one. The complex twists and turns of the plot as well as the characters make Vantage Point worth seeing again and again (as you will see the scene of the attempt over and over again).



My personal rating: 8,5 (one of the best ones truly after JFK, a must see for someone that likes the genre)


Vantage point on IMDB
Vantage point official site