Vantage Point: A Thrilling, Yet Flawed, Political Thriller
In Salamanca, Spain, an anti-terrorism forum is underway. The U.S. President is scheduled to speak, aiming to forge a new coalition of 150 nations to finally eradicate terrorism. However, terrorism has other plans. An assassination plot is set in motion, promising a high body count, potentially exceeding two thousand, considering the expected casualties from the ensuing chaos. Several individuals witness these events unfold from their unique perspectives.
First, there’s the television broadcast producer (Sigourney Weaver), as formidable and captivating as ever. Then, we have a Secret Service agent (Matthew Fox, known for “Lost”), accompanied by his partner (Dennis Quaid), who previously saved the President from an assassination attempt. A seemingly ordinary bystander, a large African-American man (Forest Whitaker), finds himself unexpectedly thrust into the role of a hero. Lastly, a Spanish police officer is also caught in the crossfire. Each character experiences fifteen minutes of the unfolding events, after which the narrative rewinds, rapidly flashing back to the starting point. Vzhzhzhzhzhik!
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt, the President’s security detail shockingly suggests bombing Morocco – an absurd proposition that even the President finds bewildering. Morocco, with its sweet mint tea, hookahs, and sprawling displays of imitation silver, lacks even oil reserves!
The result is a captivating cinematic experience. It’s not every day you witness the assassination of the U.S. President on screen, let alone repeatedly. The explosions, simulating the deaths of thousands, offer a twisted form of entertainment, and there are plenty of them. The villains carry out their nefarious deeds from inside an ambulance, raising questions about what sinister acts “doctors” might be committing within the confines of a “Mercedes” adorned with a red cross.
High-Octane Action
One of the film’s undeniable strengths is its relentless energy. Whitaker’s character is constantly running and saving people, while Quaid’s seasoned Secret Service agent engages in a thrilling car chase in an “Opel,” arguably one of the most exhilarating cinematic pursuits in recent years. Imagine navigating narrow cobblestone streets in heavy traffic at high speed. The explosions and gunfire, followed by rapid rewinds, keep the audience engaged, although the constant repetition might induce a slight sense of dizziness.
Plot Holes and Perspective
However, the film is undeniably riddled with plot holes. If it were a comic book, these narrative gaps might be forgivable, but it aspires to be a political drama with a moral message, bordering on arthouse territory.
If you can suspend your disbelief, “Vantage Point” offers a degree of entertainment. However, the film’s structure raises questions. The technique of recounting the same story from different perspectives is a well-established cinematic device, employed by filmmakers ranging from Kurosawa to Zhang Yimou in “Hero” and Brian De Palma in “Redacted.” The underlying idea is that different individuals perceive the same events in fundamentally different ways. Director Pete Travis emphasizes this point in interviews and press releases. Yet, in reality, the characters all witness the same events. The recurring episodes are so similar, with so much objective reality and so little individual perspective or even outright lies, that the multi-perspective approach feels unnecessary. The film could have been told in a more linear fashion without sacrificing much in terms of intelligence.
Final Verdict
The director himself seems to lose sight of this concept in the final act, abandoning the rewind technique. Good triumphs in the end, and the President escapes with minor injuries, defeating terrorism without disrupting the enjoyment of sweet mint tea with cinnamon.