Vantage Point (2008)

Director:

Pete Travis

Writer (WGA):

Barry Levy (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

8 Strangers. 8 Points of View. 1 Truth.

Plot:

The attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives. |

Plot Keywords:

U.S. President | Knife | Multiple Perspectives | Podium | Assassination

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Thomas Barnes
Matthew Fox	...	Kent Taylor
Forest Whitaker	...	Howard Lewis
Bruce McGill	...	Phil McCullough
Edgar Ramirez	...	Javier
Saïd Taghmaoui	...	Suarez
Ayelet Zurer	...	Veronica
Zoe Saldana	...	Angie Jones (as Zoë Saldana)
Sigourney Weaver	...	Rex Brooks
William Hurt	...	President Ashton
James LeGros	...	Ted Heinkin
Eduardo Noriega	...	Enrique
Richard T. Jones	...	Holden
Holt McCallany	...	Ron Matthews
Leonardo Nam	...	Kevin Cross

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Sweden:11 | Australia:M | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Peru:14 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42768) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:14A | Taiwan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:12A | Finland:K-13 | Greece:K-13 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | Malta:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

Salamanca or Salamangka is a common word for "trick" or "sleight of hand" in Filipino. This location may have been chosen to "poke fun at" the many plot twists in the story. The word and its meaning most likely originated from Spain since the Phiilippines had served as a Spanish colony since Magellan's arrival in 1521. The word is only used as a place in most modern Spanish dictionaries.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the car chase between the police car and Barnes in the Astra the same red Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit) keeps reappearing.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mark Reinhart: Good morning, America. It's now 12 noon in Salamanca, Spain. In a short time, world leaders from over 150 countries meet here in Plaza Mayor to sign up to President Ashton's bold new counterterrorist strategy. Since 9/11, more than 4500 people have been killed in the rising tide of global terror...

Movie Connections:

References Ocean's Eleven (2001)

a gimmick film that delivers what it promises.

What can I say? This film is a gimmick film that relates the same event through the eyes of eight different characters that each hold a piece of the puzzle. The film stops and rewinds back to 20 minutes before the event for each character. It gets a little annoying because each time it stops, the audience is left on a cliffhanger which carries the film's tension into the next character.

As for what the film promises, it promises a good puzzle, suspense and intense action. It delivers on all accounts. This plot has twists and turns and is completely logical. Half way through this movie, if you think you got it all figured out, you haven't got a clue.

The action is fairly balanced through out the film and keeps the film moving. The car chase in this film is one of the better ones I have seen in a long long time. It had some shots in it that I think were a small homage of the original The Italian Job (1969) car chase scene.

Even though I personally thought that some of the characters were paper thin, many of the actors gave strong performances that made the characters believable. Forest Whitaker was the best. I had a little problem with Dennis Quaid's character, Secret Service Agent Thomas Barnes, starting out as the thinnest of all the characters but he grows in the film. Of course, Edgar Ramirez, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Eduardo Noriega were right on and make the film (but not as much as Whitaker).

The premise of this film makes a refreshing change from the ordinary style of mainstream movies.