Vantage Point

Sometimes I see a movie, and I want so much for it to really work and satisfy me. Perhaps I set my expectations too high, - I had such hopes for Vantage Point. Unfortunately, it just didn't deliver.

The concept was intriguing - a presidential assassination told from the viewpoint of six different people involved. Slowly the underlying plot is revealed, and the film barrels towards a resolution.

The gimmick of the differing perspectives didn't really work, I think because so little new information was gleaned from each person's "chapter." It was a bit like a slow season of Lost, where you're spending too much time trekking around the island, and not enough getting to the point. And I can tell you the audience in our theater REALLY didn't like the gimmick (laughter and booing abounded).

The other thing that bothered me was the preponderance of truly horrid acting. The President's advisors in particular were just awful. "Make the call! You have to do it now!" Fortunately a few performances - Matthew Fox and Sigourney Weaver did the best with what they had.

And did anyone really believe that Forest Whitaker's character could run fast enough to keep up with the cop?