Vantage Point
Movie:
If you like action movies you just HAVE to see this. Despite some of the bad things that I have read about the film I think that anyone who has a liking for the action film genre will absolutely lap this up and that the people that didn’t like it only ever watch things like “A table for five”.
Vantage Point is different from most action films that I have seen lately in that for the majority of the running time we see the same events but from eight different viewpoints; For example we start off the film looking at a TV Stations coverage at the opening of the Anti Terrorist Summit in Salamanca, Spain. Rex Brooks (Sigourney Weaver with little more than a cameo role really) is the mobile studio manager directing her camera crews and reporter who are situated around the square. In this sequence we found out what is happening, why everyone is there and it is indeed a clever way of telling us the basic premise of the story, it is also a clever way of introducing our main character Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid).
Barnes is a secret service agent who along with other agents, including Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox), is tasked with protecting President Ashton as he is to deliver a speech at the opening of the summit, as the president takes to the podium to deliver his speech he is shot and in the ensuing panic the perpetrators also manage to set off a bomb which devastates the square that the speech was to take place in. Even as the rubble is settling it falls to Barnes to piece together and get to the bottom of what has happened.
Well that may not be entirely true. The reason for this is that we see everything from the eyes of eight different people and as such we see each bit up to a certain point then rewind and watch it all over again from another set of eyes so it is as much down to us to unravel the story as it is it is for Agent Barnes, but luckily for us with each perspective we get additional information to progress the story forward.
The danger here of course is that the story could have become tired and tedious as we trawled through everyone’s take on what happened but this is not really the case, not every view gets equal screen time, but with each we glean a little more of the story, and therefore stay interested in what is happening.
Apparently this method of filming where we rewind back and cover the same time frame is called Roshomon, after a film in 1950 that depicted a murder and told it from three different viewpoints. Barry Levy, for whom Vantage Point is his screen writing debut has not been strict in sticking to that method but has done enough to keep it similar add to this a debutant director, Pete Travis who has taken the script and directed a fast paced, tightly edited rollercoaster of a movie that will leave you breathless, complete with fantastic car chase that would rival that of the Bourne films or Ronin.
Forest Whitaker also plays quite a pivotal role as Howard Lewis. He is a tourist armed with an obvious product placement Sony Handi-cam, he is soaking up the architecture and the people and captures the sniper shots on his camera. Although he played his role well there were certain things about his character that didn’t seem 100%, and the script may have been a bit sloppy around him especially when they were looking for ways to push the story forwards. We don’t get much of his back story but he seems to be in Spain loaded with some guilt or regrets, we detect this when he talks about his family, and yet when he calls them everything seems fine, I did find this strange. Also Whitaker is not a small guy and yet manages to keep up with ultra fit Secret Service agents during a foot chase. These maybe small points and I accept that I may just be picky.
Barnes is the real star of the show and the real focus is never really too far away from him, it is he that has to piece together the clues in an attempt to find out what is going on, and it is he that is in the awesome car chase that has just the right balance between shaky camera shots and shot of cars moving, at speed down the crowded, narrow roads of a Spanish town.
The film itself apparently lasts for about 90 minutes but it actually seemed a hell of a lot shorter to me, and although the film ends on a logical, even if Hollywood, ending I was surprised to see the credits roll thinking that there must have been at least another thirty minutes of film to watch. I think this is partly because even though we are witnessing different viewpoints we are still seeing the same events for a good portion of the film and also because the film is quite fast paced that once into the meat of it you hardly get time to breath, especially with the awesome car chase that we get in the later half and so it felt like the film was only on for about an hour before it ended.
Picture:
The 2.35:1 picture is a joy to view, outside shots are bright and warm and you really feel that you are in Spain lapping up a sunny afternoon. The shots from the air which were actually of Salamanca show off the beauty of the city and the street level shots which were actually done in Mexico City were done in such a way that the blend in between the two places is indistinguishable. All skin tones seem natural and all the black levels are rich and deep. Interior shot have are clear with a industrial look to them. No matter what this is a great transfer.
Sound:
The English 5.1 mix is well put together, lots of clear dialogue from the front and although they rears are not used in excess, they are used and the loud noises never seem to overwhelm the fainter dialogue, altogether a nice soundtrack.
Extras:
Commentary with Director Pete Travis:
I had not actually heard of Pete Travis, but having watched all the other extras first before plunging into the commentary I was really looking forward to what he has to say about the film. His commentary is fairly straight forward he tells us about all the aspects of the film, it is a very personal commentary with this being his first Hollywood film.
An Inside Perspective:
Lots of back slapping in this 25 minute piece, but we get to talk to the different actors that were in the movie, even some of the lesser known people, and get their take on things, a bit like the film really in that we get their different perspectives.
Plotting and Assassination:
We talk to a number of the crew and actors about deeper parts of their role, we find out more about the story and the reasons on how the story come to fruition. This extra as the others generally contain some major spoilers and so I would not watch them before seeing the film. And thankfully for me, we find out why Howard Lewis (Forest Whittaker) is acting the way he acts in the film. I enjoyed this extra, I enjoyed finding out the director and screenwriters thoughts behind the character. 15 minutes approx
Surveillance Tapes:
40 second amusing scene with the director
Trailers:
Trailers for Hancock, 21 and Made of Honour
Overall:
A thoroughly enjoyable movie, with a good human story and great action sequences, tightly edited you will find the credits starting and you feel that you are just getting into the film. One of the best action films so far of 2008.