Vantage Point: 8 Eight Points of View See Very Little

Vantage Point reminded me of Lions for Lambs, plenty of build-up, big names, and great marketing, finished with little to nothing to show for all it's build.

Vantage Point follows, from start to finish, maybe 30 minutes in time, continually cut back to noon to start fresh from someone else's point of view. The president (or so it seems) gets shot. We see the event and the plot of terrorists from eight people: the media, a small-time accomplist, an on-looker, the President, a former black-ops, the terrorist mastermind, and two secret service agents. It starts with the outside point of view and slowly brings more and more into the picture, both into the secret service's preparation and reaction, and the terrorists' excessive knowledge. In development, it starts by playing off of our fears of terrorist attacks, follows it up with a chessgame of deceit and misdirection, and ends like a cliche-action movie where important characters rapidly kill each other one-by-one and the hero saves the day.

The cliche is almost expected, although it is a good concept to have us start by only knowing so much and to slowly learn more, not just on one side, but to flip back and forth, revealing both good and bad sides instead of just one angle of attack. The development, unfolding of events is this movies gem. However, the end does not give the rest of the movie justice. The high-speed chases and eventual end seem more obligations put together than any piece of script that truly fit into place.

Ultimately, it turns into chessgame movie of revealing, which keeps our attention and does not betray the audience with an O'Henry turn (good job there), but lost it in the end (bad job) by doing the usual. Character development is flat, with little to nothing between the characters. The script gives the a small amount of depth, which the actors do do their best with. It's a great idea that someone else down the road is going to do much better.

Is it entertaining? Yes, although some predictability made the movie ungodly dull in the end.

Is it marketable? As tired and used as it is, the stars in the movie do their best with the half-heart dialogue and the thriller aspect rides most cliches. It is great for a broad audience and can be enjoyed (although not too much) by just about anyone.

Is it memorable? Softly. The idea is original and its potential is half-filled, meaning I'm waiting for someone who tops Vantage Point, which I'm sure will happen.

My suggestion: 10,000 B.C. is coming out soon. That is likely to get those hard on action their fill, while releases of No Country For Old Men is out in a month for great thriller and character development.