VANTAGE POINT

"I saw something in the window"

As world leader gather in Spain for a summit on tackling international terrorism, the President of the United States is due to give an opening address but as he takes the podium to address the media and the crowd within stunning Spanish plaza, two shots ring out and President Ashton (Hurt) hits the floor. Secret Service Agents Thomas Barnes (Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Fox) rush to his aid, American tourist Howard Lewis (Whitaker) watches dumbstruck, GNN News producer Rex Brooks (Weaver) tries to cover the biggest story of her career, Officer Enrique (Noreiga) tries to understand what is going on but which of them had the best vantage point?

The modern action drama seems to have the same villain, the Middle Eastern terrorist but can 'Vantage Point' show you something from a different prospective?

The action thriller has come along way since the turn of the millennium. Its reinvigoration has seen hits like 'The Bourne' movies, 'Mission: Impossible III', '24' on television and the restart of the daddy of them all, the 'Bond' franchise but now audiences are expecting that much more from their action movie. Even the return of 'John McClane' in 'Die Hard 4.0' and Sylvester Stallone bringing back 'John Rambo', has seen the ante raised even higher, so now filmmakers have really push the envelope to standout and 'Vantage Point' manages to do that, but only just.

The storyline is simple. The President of the United States is in Spain to launch a UN and Arab Nation directive against terrorism when a shot rings out in the Spanish Plaza as millions of people worldwide watch in disbelief. A second shot hits the President and he falls to the ground and as he is rushed away, the podium explodes. Now this might sound like the average, run of the mill terrorist thriller but 'Vantage Point' has a twist.

The story takes place over an hour but from eight different prospective, meaning the film reverses and shows you the same assassination attempt but in very different ways. First we have news director Rex Brooks, played by an underused Sigourney Weaver, showing you what the TV watching public would have seen. Secondly we have returning Secret Service Agent Thomas Barnes, played by Dennis Quaid returning to action mode, as we witness the assassination attempt from inside the plaza. Thirdly we have the spectator's point of view from Howard Lewis, played by Forrest Whittaker. We also have the point of view of a local police officer and a few surprises to keep you intrigued. Each point of view ends on a cliffhanger and then rewinds back to the start of the coverage at 12.00pm. While this does have a 'Groundhog Day'-like feel, the different viewpoints of the incident draw you into the plot and make you take notice.

'Vantage Point' tries to do something original for the action genre but this isn't any thing new as we have seen it done better before. This doesn't make the movie bad however, as this is a film with good performances, edge of you seat action sequences and just the right amount of plot and intrigue to you guessing until the end.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary with Director Pete Travis
The British helmer provides an interesting and technical commentary for 'Vantage'. The director talks about the problems he encounters in filming the same situation from many different prospectives, casting the roles and the changes to the original story and script as the casting process progressed. This is a good single person commentary from a talented and up and coming director.

An Inside Prospective (25.39 mins)
Director Pete Travis, executive producer Callum Greene, screenwriter Barry L. Levy and stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whittaker, William Hurt, Eduardo Noriega, Edgar Ramirez and Sigourney Weaver come together to talk about getting involved in 'Vantage Point'. The group talk about the structure of the story, telling it from difference prospectives, the twist and the creation of the characters. This is a decent featurette that gives an insight into this complex to shoot movie.

Plotting an Assassination (15.21 mins)
Director Pete Travis, executive producer Callum Greene, screenwriter Barry L. Levy and stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whittaker, William Hurt, Eduardo Noriega, Edgar Ramirez and Sigourney Weaver talk about many of the things discussed in the 'An Inside Prospective' featurette. This however, concentrates more on the characters and what the actors playing them bring to the film.

Surveillance Tapes (0.43 mins)
Director Pete Travis talks about the only character to be cut from the film

Trailers
Previews of 'Hancock', '21' and 'Made of Honour'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Vantage Point' is one that fans will enjoy. The commentary track is very good from director Pete Travis, and the featurettes are well worth a watch with input from all the cast and some of the behind the scenes teams. Fans should be pleased with this release.

DVD

24

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2008