Vantage Point

Vantage Point is chock full of totally implausible character connections and plot points, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It is tightly edited. It never really slows down. It is like a 2-hour long-distance sprint. A plot to kill the president of the United States is split into half a dozen perspectives, and the film explores one perspective at a time, rolling back the clock for each new section in order to revisit the same events from different angles. At least, that was the idea. As the film moves on, it looses its grip on the ability to stick with any one Vantage Point. This is no Rashomon or Courage Under Fire (both of which examined wildly varying perspectives and individualized memories of shared events). The psychological landscapes of the characters in this film are pretty barren. Capital-T Truth is not a relative phenomena in Vantage Point. There are no question marks left by the time the credits roll, which is satisfying, in its own way. The film baits you with some half-revealed information at the end of each section, and makes you wait for future sections to find out a little bit more. In fact, several of these sections cut away at ridiculous moments, like commercial breaks, that recall cheap television cliffhanging strategies, as if to make sure you don't click over to some other station. This is a thriller that uses different perspectives merely as a device to withhold and then reveal information. Eventually, the movie becomes a familiar thriller/action movie with all vantage points given at once. And I have to say, it does an excellent job at that level. In fact, for what it was, it was a hoot: high energy, intense acting, the promise revelation, and the unveiling of an impressively devised plot to assassinate the president.