Product description

Vantage Point [2008]

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Average customer rating: 3.5

Binding : DVD
EAN : 5035822661936
Label : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Publisher : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date : 2008-08-04
Title : Vantage Point [2008]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Suitable for 12 years and over
Format : PAL
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 2008-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 86
Studio : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Theatrical releaseDate : 2008

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk review

Vantage Point, which aspires to be a cunningly twisted thriller, comes equipped with plenty of hurtling action, handheld camerawork, what-was-that? editing, and a plot that has multiple, contradictory agendas writhing like a nest of snakes. It's all set within a few blocks of a town square in Spain where a U.S. President is targeted for assassination. Although the movie lasts 90 minutes, the events it depicts are mostly over within fifteen minutes or so--but seen, rewound, and reseen from half a dozen different (you guessed it) vantage points. The first line in the credits reads "Original Film," apparently the name of the production company. "Gimmick Movie" might be more accurate. The opening reel, effectively jolting, affords an initial overview of the events through the eyes, lenses, monitors, and duelling sensibilities of a TV news producer (Sigourney Weaver), her activist-minded reporter (Zoe Saldana) and crew. Everybody’s in Salamanca for the start of an international conference to reaffirm Arab-Western commitment to the fight against terrorism. Terrorism, of course, sees this as an ideal moment to break out. As gunshots and explosions reduce everything to chaos, the clock is reset to zero and we proceed to revisit the scene as experienced by several Secret Service agents (namely Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox), an American tourist with camcorder (Forest Whitaker), sundry locals--including three who may be caught up in a love triangle or a conspiracy or both--and even the President himself (William Hurt).

For a while, this is mildly diverting: that guy, or that gesture, so sinister when glimpsed across the plaza in one run-through, now appears harmless in closeup--or vice versa. But there's no real ambiguity (so stop with the careless comparisons to Kurosawa's Rashomon)--this is a shell game in which the peas aren't worth tracking. Despite decent actors, the characters might as well be holograms (although poor Forest Whitaker is saddled with "motivation" of surpassing sappiness), and the casting telegraphs several twists: one redoubtable good guy practically gives a wink-wink, nudge-nudge that he's really bad, etc. The movie declines to specify which nutjob philosophy the terrorists espouse, and their numbers are multi-ethnic. There's also a laborious suggestion that they have bloodthirsty, reactionary counterparts among the President's inner circle, which perhaps qualifies as redeeming socio-political comment and prompts a meaningless declaration of deep meaning from the Prez. The whole megilleh finally comes down to an extended car chase through impassably claustrophobic streets that would mark a lurch into unintentional self-parody--if only that point hadn't been passed a couple of rewinds earlier. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer reviews

review by: stipesdoppleganger date: 2008-11-22 rating:

Exciting technically proficient thriller with redundant emotional clout.
One of the stars of Vantage Point-Dennis Quaid - has described the film as a "Kind of Rashomon [1950] [Special Edition]" alluding to the films method of showing the same 23 minute loop of time from several different perspectives. Whoah there Dennis , don't get carried away . Structurally , though he kind of has a point though in terms of quality these two films while not chalk and cheese are definitely wildly varying qualities of cheddar.
Vantage Point takes place at an anti -terrorism summit in Salamanca ,Spain( though most of the film was actually shot in Mexico) where the American President Ashton ( William Hurt) is making a speech. He is shot , a bomb goes off , general chaos ensues as you would expect. We, the audience, then to see events from the differing empirical perspective of six different characters- Television news producer Rex Brooks ( Sigourney Weaver) , US secret service agents Thomas Barnes( Dennis Quaid ) and Kent Taylor( Matthew Fox) Spanish police officer Enrique( Eduardo Noriega) American tourist Howard Lewis( Forest Whittaker) the terrorists and the president himself.
As the differing viewpoints of events unfold we learn more about the characters and incremental details and nuances of the terrorist plot and its participants. Things we see from one persons viewpoint turn out to mean something else altogether when seen from another's. As the tangled machinations of the plot are gradually unfurled Vantage Point resorts increasingly into generic thriller mode with car chases( very well done mind) gun fights ( again well done) and lots of running around ( errrrr.....)
It,s very far fetched though but proficiently directed and well acted by the quality cast though Dennis Quaid looks to be suffering from severe heartburn throughout. I rather regretted the fact that writer Barry Levy chose to take the script into mawkish soap territory with Forest Whitaker's character undergoing some cathartic healing process through looking after a young Spanish girl. Cute though this is it does,nt belong in this film. Plus the redemptive feel good apple pie ending misjudges the tone of the film giving it a syrupy denouement that jars .
I,m also confused about what the film is trying ultimately to say. Is is that one event seen only from one perspective can never be as cut and dried as we are led to believe or that no matter how well you plan, determined terrorist( we never learn the cause they espouse in this film ) acts are impossible to prevent? Either way from my vantage point this is a technically clever and exciting film that has to rely on a cute little girl to give it some real heart which is where this plot fails.

review by: moviebuff05 date: 2008-11-10 rating:

mind blowing!!
What a heart pounding thriller. Plots about assassinations are always exciting but this had a particular twist to it, being that the same event was repeated from different character's perspectives. What follows is a hair-raising helter skelter of events, each character noticing different significant moments that no one else knew of. A really good film and some stunning performances from Quaid and Hurt.

review by: date: 2008-10-19 rating:

Mayhem in Salamanca
"Vantage Point" is an entertaining but totally implausable action film set in the Spanish city of Salamanca. A double of the US President is shot at an anti terror conference of world leaders and amidst further bombings and shootings in the vicinity an intricate plot to abduct the real US President unfolds. The terrorist plot is quite brilliantly coordinated , but it is so highly unlikely that belief has to be suspended by the viewer. This suspension continues during a remarkable car chase through the city streets in which a US Secret Service agent pursues suspected terrorists without sustaining any serious injury. "Vantage Point" is exciting and gripping to watch but the plot is far fetched to the point of incredulity.

review by: ''Chinatown'' date: 2008-10-08 rating:

Exciting but Obvious
President Ashton(William Hurt)is assassinated at a political summit in Salamanca,Spain.Seasoned Secret Service Agent Thomas Barnes(Dennis Quaid) and his collegues are in a race against time to uncover the perpetrators whose very careful plans include a bribed special forces operative,a compromised bodyguard and several explosive devices.
Rashomon like thriller(the same event from several perspectives)is fast paced,well acted(even if Quaid is starting to look like he is permanently constipated)and pretty exciting.The twists,save one, are all extremely obvious.The "mole" is so obvious that it serves only to reduce the tension rather than ramp it up.
Still a bravura finsh,worthy of the bourne series and a resourceful POTUS makes Vantage Point alot of fun.

review by: hornet123 date: 2008-09-30 rating:

Tugging at the Heartstrings
The big problem I have with this film is that by the end, I didn't really give two hoots about the President and whether he lives or dies. But I was really concerned about what was going to happen to the little girl.

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