Another potentially great movie that didn't go an inch past potential. Vantage Point had all the makings of an awesome flick. Everybody wants to talk about how it was filmed similar to Rashomon. Well, whenever a movie is made in the same style as one that was actually good a while ago, everybody wants to compare it to that. Call it nostalgia. I don't know. But Vantage Point redefines annoying in a movie.

There are always plenty of characters to use in an action movie. Typically there is a protagonist, antagonist, and maybe a guy who's just really pissed (I just felt like rhyming). Here, we get 8 different main characters. Not only is the plot of having a body double for the President absurd, but I couldn't get over how the election must have gone for him. Did they have body doubles for all the candidates? Was he created in a lab? Could he be a robot!? It doesn't really matter. The reason Vantage Point got annoying were the repeated flashbacks through rewinding. Saw, Memento, Atonement. These are just a few movies that effectively use flashbacks, but they don't actually REWIND the footage you just watched. It just seemed like a waste of time, especially considering the movie was only 84 minutes. Thank God for that.

Vantage Point is a virtual who's who of geriatric actors with proven track records. But each one was strained due to the poor writing. I couldn't give two Wheat Thins about Sigourney Weaver's news producer character. Half of her wanted ratings, the other half pretended to care. Then you got the terrorists. No big name actors, of course. They never are. This was fine, but why does there have to be a romantic link there? William Hurt was alright as the President, but he didn't have to do much except waste my time with "Should I bomb this country or that country" nonsense. For a movie that tried to stay away from being political, I found some well-hidden messages. For instance, the protesters at the conference all had signs reading "W" to represent the President. Also, the conversation with the President involving attacking swiftly to show strength. What else can I bash here? Oh yea, how about the most obvious plot twist I've seen in a while. I won't give it away, but I'd be surprised if you didn't at least figure it out 20 minutes in. Trust me, it IS that simple. Let's not forget the most talented actor in the film, Forest Whitaker. He did a pretty decent job as an American tourist who brings his video camera to a Presidential event only to film nothing of the President. No, he'd rather film the people. Good thing, though, because otherwise we never would have caught the bomb or the sniper. Jeez. Don't even get me started with the girl he gets involved with. But my most hated part? Dennis Quaid. Ugh. The old Secret Service agent who sees everything. I did enjoy the spear ( a la Goldberg) he gave a suspected terrorist after the assassination. Otherwise, he spent an hour and a half driving around and sprinting as fast as the terrorist he's chasing who is in his early-mid-20s.  Oh, and remember that scene from Austin Powers from the previous post? There is a scene exactly like that at the end. Just get out of the street you idiot!

I will give Vantage Point credit where it is due. For an action film, it never really died down. It was action packed from the beginning. But maybe that's because it was really just 10 minutes of action shot 8 different ways. Guess what 10 times 8 equals? If you are bored out of your skull and want some (relatively) thoughtless action and some more reasons to hate terrorism, go to this movie. Otherwise, save your money and wait for my other reviews this week.

      out of 5 trophies (for the action and because I hate terrorists)