This is topic Vantage Point (2008) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=001383

---

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 02-22-2008, 05:07 AM:
 
I wasn't to sure about this one, after watching it I understand why there was only one trailer. They would of given away to much of the film if they did another trailer.

A choice of actors to do the parts. I really like Dennis Quaid and he does a good job in this role, no matter what movie I see Matthew Fox in all I see is Dr. Jack from "Lost". This film had one of the best car chase scenes since Bourne Identity. Top notch and well shot.

overall I give this 4/5 well worth checking out.
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-09-2008, 08:58 PM:
 
I liked this better than any of the "Bourne" films. Nice tight running time, imaginatively filmed, and while there is some shaky-cam during the chase scenes, it is not used excessively.

The story and the interlocking characters got a little confusing at times but it all ties together in the end. The constant time-shifting back to 11:59:58 caused some obvious eye-rolling in the audience...although I thought that was kind of cool in a way.

3.75 out of 5 for me.
 

---

Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 03-09-2008, 11:34 PM:
 
The problem with this movie is that it's built on the premise that each viewpoint will reveal another piece of the puzzle. However, after the first viewpoint, it becomes quite obvious where everything is going, and getting there is pretty tedious.
 

---

Posted by Richard P. May (Member # 3598) on 03-17-2008, 01:08 PM:
 
It's not terrible. The repetition was less tedious than I had expected. The final sequence, with the car chase, is so far-fetched that it's fun, and made for some after-movie conversation of where the holes (not made by bullets) were.

RPM
 

---

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 03-17-2008, 01:18 PM:
 
Though this movie had it's good points along with great actors, it seemed a little confusing at times. The action was good. Seeing the same event from different angles and views was interesting.
 

---

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 03-18-2008, 09:16 AM:
 
I thought this was very entertaining and it was nice to see something done in a different way. I thought it was cool that not only did you get things from different angles but the dialog and timeline of events was slightly different sometimes. This meshes well with reality where different witnesses have slightly different memories of the event.

4 out of 5 for me
 

---

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-22-2008, 07:29 PM:
 
Today at Regal 15 in Eugene, #7, 35mm. Looked ok except for too much dirt (black flecks). Sounded KlipschTacular®.

This is not a great movie but it's at least a good movie. The rewind gimmick was clearly annoying a few people in the audience, but it all kind of works and the story holds together. Nice car chase indeed. What was that blue car Dennis Quaid was driving? I couldn't tell. A Toyota Yaris maybe?

Director to Dennis Quaid: "Just look like you're really constipated!"

3 out of 5.
 

---

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 03-22-2008, 08:21 PM:
 

quote: David Stambaugh

---

What was that blue car Dennis Quaid was driving? I couldn't tell. A Toyota Yaris maybe?

---

quote:

---

Factual error: The blue car that is driven by Barnes is a Chevrolet Astra. The film is set in Spain, and Chevrolet do not make nor import/export the Astra to Spain: Opel are the sole GM manufacturer of the Astra in Spain, and similarly Vauxhall are the sole manufacturer of the Astra in the UK.

---

quote:

---

Factual error: During the car chase scene, the Chevrolet Astra (blue car) repeatedly collides with other vehicles and objects on the front end, yet the airbags don't deploy.

---

quote:

---

Sounded KlipschTacular®.

---

NICE!
 

---

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-23-2008, 06:47 PM:
 
Cinemark Suncoast
Screen 14
Thursday, March 20, 2008 (my 53rd birthday, yay); 2:40pm; $6.75 matinee

TAP-style review: Not much to say - serviceable presentation, but only that. Print had some dirt and light base-side scratches right down the middle throughout the show. The labs are getting better at almost hiding the CAP code. Splices at the reel joins looked different - does Cinemark use splicers that cut a "toothed" pattern (think of a square version of the IMAX "pinking shears" cuts) instead of just a straight cut on the frame line? Best focus was at the bottom of the screen (when I focus I try to get the middle of screen sharpest if I can't get the whole thing simultaneously). Sound level a bit high for my taste sitting about halfway back in a mostly empty house.

* * * * *

Some competently put together old-school film making here. Not bad, in that it didn't make me miss an hour and forty out of my life. See Rashomon for the ultimate example of the multiple witness viewpoints of the same event thing. I've spent worse days in a theater.

I'll go with 3 out of 5 too.
 

---

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 03-26-2008, 01:25 AM:
 
During a transnational anti-terrorism summit in Spain the president of the United States of America is assassinated. In the current political climate one half expects thunderous applause from the audience but no; in any case presidential assassinations just don't seem to have the impact they used to. What follows is the same incident represented from several different viewpoints.

Showing a crime committed from different people's point of view is an intriguing premise but it only works if all the key plot points converge on the end, solving the mystery just prior to the closing credits. The problem here is that you figure out critical plot points long before the conclusion. In this regard, the script just isn't quite clever enough and never delivers on its promise. The narrative is also littered with clunky, contrived plot devices, unbelievable set pieces and some truly naff dialogue but first time feature director, Pete Travis, keeps the tension wound taut resulting in a film which is much more enjoyable than it deserves to be. It's unfortunate then that his gargantuan efforts to overcome the material is ultimately undone by a totally preposterous conclusion which arises out of an equally preposterous series of coincidences; but it is admittedly good fun up until this point.

It's a frustratingly disappointing film which for most of its length shoots straight for the bullseye and then............misses! ::sigh::

7 out of 10

Here's a list of some of the sillier things I remember from the film (careful, here be SPOILERS!):

1. The introduction of Barnes (Quaid) is a lesson in clunky, contrived plot devices - the TV Producer (Sigourney Weaver) tracks down footage of Barnes' past only to instantly dismiss it because she doesn't time to use it.

2. Following the terrorist attack, the president's favourite Secret Service Agent (Quaid) proclaims, "This shouldn't have happened!" Um, well, duh!

3. The Spanish cop (Eduardo Noriega) unwittingly sneaks a bomb-laden satchel into a secure area for his terrorist girlfriend?? Revoke that guy's badge immediately, I say!

4. Secret service agents opening fire in crowded streets of a friendly foreign country?? That must break a few treaties!

5. The president has a double that not even the fella who took a bullet for him notices?? He must be a previously unknown identical twin!
 

---

Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 03-30-2008, 09:51 AM:
 
AMC Burlington 10, auditorium #4. Except for a lab splice the picture was great, sound was fine even though it sounded like they were running in analog instead of digital.

I thought this was ok, certainly not bad and I enjoyed it but could have been better. The concept is great, seeing the same events from different points of view works really well. And yes, the car chase was indeed really good! Unfortunately the story was overall just kinda average, and as Stu notes above even rather silly at times. Some improvements there would have really helped this movie a lot. Overall I think a 6 out of 10.
 

---