Vantage Point (PG-13)
Mike:
Scott:
Mike: Tonight we are reviewing Vantage Point
, a thriller that shows us a presidential assassination attempt from a variety of viewpoints.
So what did you think?
Scott: I liked it. It's one of the best thrillers of the last couple years. I loved the way it was done. It really was non-stop action.
What did you think Mike?
Mike: I agree. I think it is one of the cleverest films I have seen in a long time. This is the smart type action thriller I keep waiting for. Finally, we have a movie that matches the promise of the trailer.
Scott: You said you see the assassination from several viewpoints and you weren't lying. They show us the exact same timeline, but through different characters eyes. It really broadens the story and adds depth that you don't normal get.
Mike: I think this would have been a fine movie if it was told straight forward. But the idea of presenting it like the classic Japanese film Rashomon takes this movie up a notch.
Some people will undoubtedly be annoyed by this technique, but they are also probably the people who won't get the movie as a whole.
Scott: Very true.
I heard some people relate the movie to 24 and other than there was a clock and the agents of the U.S. government were involved, I didn't see a relation.
Mike: It definitely owes to Rashomon, where the same story is told through different characters and all of them saw something different.
The thing I like about this is that when it is over everything fits. I admit there are some coincidental moments, but it is a movie after all, not real life.
Scott: There was a really good cast in this that saw the movie from different views. Dennis Quaid is secret service agent Thomas Barnes, who only 6 months before took a bullet, or possibly two, to protect the president.
Mike: Great cast, but you would be hard pressed to pick out the star. This is truly an ensemble piece.
Scott: It was a good cast, but I think Quaid was our star.
Mathew Fox is Kent Taylor, another secret service agent assigned to protect the president. Just like in Lost, he was intense and great to watch.
One member of the crowd with a super-duper new video camera is Forest Whitaker as Howard Lewis. His role was part advertiser for Sony and part documenter for the assassination. He was the glue that pulled all of the separate scenes together.
Mike: Whitaker is an Oscar winner and it was great to see him take a small part and really turn it into something memorable. He is the perfect everyman in this movie.
It was also great to see William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver. Seems like it has been a long time since either was in anything memorable.
Scott: Hurt played the president and the double for the president. They looked surprisingly alike. Weaver was the director of GNN the ‘global news network’ covering the event. I just love all of the ?NN generic news networks they come up with for movies.
Mike: Actually the last movie I remember for each of them was the same movie - The Village in 2004.
Scott: I'm not surprised you forgot that movie. I know I did.
Mike: I didn't say I forgot the movie - I was starting to forget them.
Scott: To continue on the cast, Saïd Taghmaoui and Edgar Ramirez are both people I have seen and enjoyed before. Ramirez was in Domino and The Bourne Ultimatum and Taghmaoui was in Hidalgo. Both looked really familiar. They were both great in this.
Mike: The funny thing is that some seemingly minor characters have as much weight as the stars in this film.
There are plenty of twists and the movie is like a puzzle that isn't formed until the last piece falls into place.
Scott: Exactly, even though you see the same scene repeatedly you don't understand what's happening until the end.
Mike: Having said that, I would be falling down on the job if I didn't mention The Car Chase. It has to rank as one of the best car chases in recent years. It makes the Bourne car chases look like buggy racing.
Scott: I don't know about buggy racing or not, but it was a great chase. I love European narrow street chases and this was a really good one of those. It's amazing the cutting in and out of traffic they do with the cars. They had some really good stunt drivers for this one.
Mike: Do you mean Quaid wasn't really driving the car?
Scott: No, he really wasn't. Crazy right?
Stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos has been around a while. Some of his recent movies were Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Bad Boys II and an episode of Lost, among many other movies and television shows. His experience showed in this movie.
Mike: Director Pete Travis makes a mark in his leap from TV to the big screen.
Scott: Travis let the movie go where it would. It flowed well and was very exciting.
Mike: To top it off it looks like this is writer Barry Levy's first script. Levy was a religious school teacher when he sold this script. Sounds like unknowns can still be discovered in Hollywood.
Scott: Good job Levy! Between him and Diablo Cody of Juno, we have had some good first time writers lately.
Mike: So how do you rate this?
Scott: I give this a 3.5 overall and a 4 for a thriller.
How do you rate this?
Mike: I give it a 4 overall and a 4 for action /thriller. This movie had me engaged and on the edge of my seat.
Scott: Your best vantage point this weekend is in the theatre watching this movie.
