Vantage Point

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a decent action movie. That’s a lie. I recently watched Seagal’s latest DTV movie, Pistol Whipped, which whipped my ass and my pistol simultaneously. It is an amazing tour-de-force of pure genius. But I’m not reviewing it here. I’m instead reviewing another amazing action film that I just watched. Top notch filmmaking. It’s called Vantage Point and it stars my three favorite actors of all time: Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid, and Matthew Fox. You may have seen the trailer for this movie when it was in theatres; it played on every TV channel during every commercial break for weeks. You may have seen a befuddled Forest Whitaker with a camcorder in a crowd, recording the assassination of the President of the United States. You may have seen Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox running and jumping and shooting and driving and crashing through the streets of Spain to catch the assassins. You may have wet your pants in anticipation of the film’s greatness.

Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox play Secret Service agents on Presidential detail. The President, or as I will refer to him from now as POTUS, is about to deliver a groundbreaking speech about terrorism in Salamanca, Spain. I went to Salamanca, Spain last January. It’s a cool city. I bought a red t-shirt that says Universidad Salamanca. That means Salamanca University in English. The location where POTUS is set to deliver his momentous speech is Plaza Mayor. I visited Plaza Mayor. I can vouch for the authenticity of this location in the film. As POTUS is getting ready to deliver his world-changing remarks, someone shoots him. Then a bomb goes off somewhere outside of the Plaza. Then a bomb goes off inside the plaza. Boom, boom, boom. Luckily, Forest Whitaker is nearby, filming his experience like a well-trained tourist. The look of shock on his face, the pure terror of violent, unexpected acts is a beautiful thing to behold. Forest has come a long way from his role as Balldozer in Vision Quest. His emotive facial contortions deliver more truth and power than any line of spoken dialogue. The man positively exudes greatness.

Once the assassination and its brief aftermath have taken place, we get to experience it all over again and again through the differing vantage points (this is where they got the idea for the movie’s title) of key onlookers. Each different point of view (i.e. standpoint) provides us, the viewers, with new insights, details, and clues as to what actually transpired. Did POTUS actually get shot? What was the cause of the explosion outside of the plaza? Why did the little girl drop her ice cream? Who are the terrorists? Why is Forest Whitaker so sad and confused? How does Dennis Quaid’s past experience inform his present decision making process? Where did Matthew Fox go and could he possibly have something to do with the assassination attempt? I enjoy how all the characters’ paths are perfectly entwined and how their miniscule actions are a requisite part of everything resolving the only way it can and should resolve. We are the USA. We love our POTUS.

Vantage Point features some truly amazing action sequences and special effects. The explosions are jarring, blunt, and brutal. The filmmakers do a great job of not showing blood during all of the violence. This is especially important to viewers who don’t like blood. Many of the children that watch PG-13 movies aren’t ready for that kind of adult material. They shouldn’t have to see mangled body parts and gore after an explosion or a gunfight…that kind of realism is just plain gratuitous. There is a car chase sequence in this film that rivals the greatest chase scenes of all time, including Bullitt, Ronin, and The Bourne Supremacy. It features some of the best sped-up camera work I have ever witnessed. The chase ends with Dennis Quaid kicking out the windshield of his car and climbing through the vacated space--a moment of untainted cinematic perfection and my favorite scene in the movie. Dennis elevates his acting to Nick Nolte levels of brilliance.

I recommend Vantage Point to anyone who likes hardcore, kickass action movies of the highest tier. I’m looking forward to the sequel, Vantage Point II: 2 Points of View. I sincerely hope that Forest Whitaker and Dennis Quaid reprise their influential roles and that the entire movie is filmed from their vantage points and shown in split-screen. I’d like to see Matthew Fox come back as well, but that would be a difficult casting situation seeing as he died in this one (spoiler).