Vantage Point Review

Bottom-Line: But, despite Vantage Point's glaring flaws I found myself liking the film at least enough to give it a weak nod.

A really intelligent movie is getting hard and harder to find in Hollywood's modern day repertoire.  There was a time when that was practically all Tinseltown produced, but somewhere along our journey into the 21st century, movies have gotten progressively airy and require less brain power to mentally digest. I have to admit there are times when I enjoy the witless movie as much as the next guy, but not all the time!  Even the movie that promise intellectual stimulation only go so far and then, the brain balloon pops, and the treaded formulaic plot lines escape thus ruining the movie. 

Such is the case with Vantage Point, the political thriller that looks at the attempted assassination of the U.S. President from 8 different perspectives.  Vantage Point wants so badly to tell a story of intelligent intrigue, human drama, national arrogance, and international anger, but somewhere along the way the writers forgot to parley with reality.  The result: a script full of very discernable holes in a movie that is entertaining, but barley so.  

My Viewpoint

With a roster of notable stars Vantage Point should have been a solid film.  And indeed it starts out promising enough, but as the story unwinds the plot holes become more glaring and frequent.  For example: in one segment a lone terrorist was able to gain access to the President's room by climbing stairs un-haunted as it were by the Secret Service; seriously!  And of course those Secret Service agents he did encounter were easily dispatched; again seriously! 

Despite the films somewhat unique approach, Vantage Point is infused with formulaic plot twists and characters; enough to make the film mostly predictable.  And the ending stretches the imagination almost to the breaking point, but I suppose it acts as a catalyst for a number of characters to play the Great American Hero, but the outcome is far too contrived to be remotely believable.

But, despite Vantage Point's glaring flaws I found myself liking the film at least enough to give it a weak nod...(read what my wife has to say about the movie here).