Vanatge Point Review

Early on in this laughably serious 'thriller' a newsreader says to her producer, "You mean dumb it down?". As said newsreader pops her clogs pretty early on there remains no one to question how stupid this film becomes and dumbing down becomes the dish of the day. Included is a 'rewind technique' that not only makes you feel nauseous but sits you down like a child to explain that "Listen children we're going to go back in time to the start of the story. Is everybody sitting comfortably? Good."

In a clever homage/total shitting rip off (delete where applicable) Vantage Point takes the Rashomon idea of viewing something from multiple angles. In this case its a Presidents assasination/terrorist attack from the angle of a tourist (Forest Whitaker), a secret service man(Dennis Quaid), a newsproducer (Sigourney Weaver), a spainish cop (Eduardo Noriega) and in a bizarre 'twist' (given away in the trailer) The President (William Hurt) himself.

It actually isn't Rashomon at all I'm just saying that because its an easy comparison. And its a comparison that proves my point about how unintelligent this film is. You see in that classic Japanese movie the differing narratives were conflicting and actually made the audience think. Vanatage Point just shows you exactly the same thing over and over again, just giving you a tiny bit more each time, usually in the form of some cringeworthy expositional dialogue.

The other comparison I've heard is that of 24. Now this one is closer, and not just for Dennis Quaid's 'Jack Baeur in his 50's' performance. But again the comparison is less favourable than setting fire to your own pubic hair. 24 has always been over-the-top enjoyable trash (not all in the creative team may be in on the joke but its clear that seriousness is not always on the menu). Sadly with Vantage Point tongue and cheek are nowhere to be seen. There is a good idea in here somewhere, but once again the filmmakers of this world believe we don't have a braincell between us to comprehend it.