Vantage Point (2008)

Directed by Pete Travis. Starring Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt, Matthew Fox, Édgar Ramírez, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ayelet Zurer, Eduardo Noriega, Sigourney Weaver, Bruce McGill, Zoe Saldana, Richard T. Jones. [PG-13]

The immediate events leading up to an assassination attempt on the US president in Spain (as well as the immediate fallout), told from the perspectives of several different characters. Gimmicky thriller “rewinds” the narrative several times over the course of the film, each new sequence untangling the web a little further. Rashomon-esque on the surface, but no effort is made to root out philosophical truths, just deliver a speedy, visceral (but ultimately unremarkable) jolt. The first sequence with Weaver as a television news producer directing her team as the shocking incident unfolds is easily the most involving; it’s all downhill from there, culminating in an erratic car chase and far too many stupid decisions and convenient close calls to ever swallow (the little girl wandering around on a busy highway takes the cake). Anyone who can’t guess most of the plot twists within about twenty minutes probably hasn’t seen too many movies.

40/100