A political thriller/action movie (and none the worse for that) starring William Hurt and Dennis Quaid (with several other well known actors). The film uses a clever (and effective) device of viewing events surrounding the assassination of a US President at a peace summit in Spain from various perspectives. This demonstrates how each individual (ranging from a TV producer, through secret service bodyguard, tourist, police officer to bystanding child) sees only one fraction of the drama, and often get totally conflicting (sometimes dangerously so) impressions of what is happening. Gradually the plot is uncovered and we see almost all of what has gone on. There is a wonderful car chase (rivalling that in Tell No One) and the body count is appallingly high. I was on the edge of my seat, but there are two flaws. Because there are so many contributors there is no hero - Dennis Quaid is no Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series. Secondly we never find out the plotters motivations and that undermines the 'politics' of this thriller. Still it is worthy of a 7/10 rating.Monday, 17 March 2008
Vantage Point
A political thriller/action movie (and none the worse for that) starring William Hurt and Dennis Quaid (with several other well known actors). The film uses a clever (and effective) device of viewing events surrounding the assassination of a US President at a peace summit in Spain from various perspectives. This demonstrates how each individual (ranging from a TV producer, through secret service bodyguard, tourist, police officer to bystanding child) sees only one fraction of the drama, and often get totally conflicting (sometimes dangerously so) impressions of what is happening. Gradually the plot is uncovered and we see almost all of what has gone on. There is a wonderful car chase (rivalling that in Tell No One) and the body count is appallingly high. I was on the edge of my seat, but there are two flaws. Because there are so many contributors there is no hero - Dennis Quaid is no Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series. Secondly we never find out the plotters motivations and that undermines the 'politics' of this thriller. Still it is worthy of a 7/10 rating.
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I felt the film was undermined from the beginning because in today's climate no such peace summit would take place. Politicians just don't stand in front of large audiences of people like that because of the terrorism threat.
Yes you're absolutely right - it did cross my mind that the US president would not be standing in front of a huge (and seemingly uninvited) audience. I suppose I was just intrigued by the device of the film.
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