"Vantage Point" takes on a unique perspective for an action film. It shows the assassination of the U.S. President from eight separate points of view, and each time the new vantage point reveals something new about what is really going on. To some this may seem tedious, though I found it increasing engaging and suspenseful with each new point of view. The acting is good here. Dennis Quaid is truly engaged in his role, and one can feel the pressure and stress he must be under at the time. While the film is tons of fun to watch and try to figure out, it is not without a few flaws. First of all, there is almost no character development. The film moves along so quickly that we are really unable to learn very much about each individual character. We pick up that Forest Whitaker may be having trouble in his family life, but we do not really find out for sure. Dennis Quaid is stressed because he took a shot for the president the previous year, yet we do not find out much about him personally. It seems to me that everything turned out too coincidentally here, that everything just happened to come together at the end, just a bit unbelievable. Nevertheless, the film is not meant to be very monumental, and I found it very exciting and entertaining, being put at the edge of my seat. It's worth seeing and quite enjoyable, though don't expect a perfect film. One of the best from 2008 so far.
*** out of ****
*** out of ****