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Vantage Point
Directed by: Pete Travis Starring: Dennis Quaid Genre: Action/Adventure Run Time: 90 min. Release Date: February 2008 On The Web: Official Site Teaser: Movie Trailer Reviewed by Byron Merritt |
The problem with VANTAGE POINT is that it doesn’t take into consideration two very important things: the point of view of the watcher, and a believable storyline. Let me explain... Seeing a situation/crime/etc. from different points of view might be interesting to some. But if you’re going to do that, you need to make sure that there are engaging points that aren’t repeated ad nauseam. You might think that four or five points of view would be the maximum allowable for something like this. And you’d probably be right. But how about six? Or seven? Too many? Would you believe this one has eight?! Far, far, far too many. And they all start just about the same place, which grated on the nerves after a short while. The storyline is pretty ridiculous, too. Doppleganger Presidents. Double Secret Service agents. Terrorists who need to hire an assassin. And an ending that is pure schlock. Not being that much of a fan of Dennis Quaid didn’t help matters for me either — the only two films with him in them that I enjoyed were ENEMY MINE and THE BIG EASY. The rest of his movie repertoire is questionable to say the least; JAWS 3-D, YOURS, MINE AND OURS, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, etc. I will say, however, that the action was fun to watch. And seeing William Hurt (INTO THE WILD) get shot multiple times was pretty enjoyable, too. But that’s where my enjoyment stopped. Matthew Fox (SPEED RACER) as agent Kent Taylor was completely miscast and unbelievable. But probably the most miscast of all the characters was Forest Whitaker. Having seen Whitaker in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, I know what he’s capable of. Here, he seemed like an overweight but athletic American out of his league carrying a video camera through Spain because ...well ...we’re not sure. The big and final letdown was the ending of this film. If terrorists are prepared to kill, maim, and destroy innocent people in order to get to the President of the United States, would running over a girl stop them? I doubt that. Which made me nearly turn off the film. But we had to have a happy ending, sweet and sticky, with Quaid saving the day. Ugh.
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Image from Vantage Point
DVD cost: $23.78 Purchase: Tower.com (Blu-Ray) Film Review Stew Favorite? No. Stew Poo-Poo? No. Newsworthy: As the shooting was moved to Mexico, the production design department was forced to build a replica of the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca in Mexico. The replica is slightly smaller and simpler than the original. Movie Quote: "The beauty of American arrogance is that they can't imagine a world where they're not a step ahead."
Other Actors/Actresses from Vantage Point
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Images from Vantage Point
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