Vantage Point

Shouldn’t a movie about different points of view have one of its own?

By Matt Pais

Critic's Rating:

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Despite the presence of the Secret Service agent (Dennis Quaid) who saved him last time, the U.S. president (William Hurt) is shot right before a bomb goes off at an international anti-terrorism summit in Spain. Who did this? Why? Before revealing the answers, “Vantage Point” gradually introduces bits of information from different perspectives only to rewind to earlier in the day and show more info. Forest Whitaker stars as an American tourist and Matthew Fox plays another Secret Service agent.

Big question: Can these time/viewpoint shifts serve more of a purpose than they did in “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”?

Skip it: A popcorn thriller all the way, “Vantage Point” ignores any political perspectives or motives for terrorism in favor of constant cliffhangers that create suspense by toying with you. The gimmick is both irritating and effective -- if someone starts a sentence, you can’t help but wonder how they’re going to fin … -- but it’s just a way for director Pete Travis to distract from the silly over-plotting and appease viewers’ jealousy that they, unlike practically every character in the movie, don’t get to talk into a cool little headset.

Catch it: If you can’t get enough of the understandable but absurdly blatant distrust of the news media in movies like "George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead" and Brian De Palma’s “Redacted.” In “Vantage,” when her producer (Sigourney Weaver) tells her to “keep it simple,” an on-camera reporter (Zoe Saldana) responds, “You mean dumb it down?” Take that, journalism!

Bottom line: Most people who see “Vantage Point” will likely only seek mindless fun, and the brisk, efficient action might make up for everything if the movie weren’t so easy to mock. It offers less entertainment than just awareness of how nearly every American male role seems like it was intended for Harrison Ford.

Bonus: It’s always nice when a writer shows that he doesn’t want to expend any more energy than the audience, as first-time scribe Barry Levy relies on familiar dialogue like, “We got company!” and exchanges like “This never should have happened." "Except it did, and it was on our watch.” Brilliant!

Video: Watch the review of 'Vantage Point'

What do you think of 'Vantage Point'? Email me: mpais@tribune.com