Vantage Point

January 18, 2009 - A terrorist attack leads to a wild chase through the streets of Spain for Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker and other well-known actors. That list includes Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and William Hurt.

Hurt plays the president of the United States, in Spain for a much-celebrated international anti-terrorism summit. Quaid and Fox are Secret Service agents assigned to his detail. Just as the president is about to speak at a huge outdoor event, he gets shot. Then, the stage he was standing on blows up and chaos ensues.

We, the viewers, get to see this sequence of events multiple times, each time from the viewpoint of a different character. Eventually, the viewpoint becomes omniscient as the movie builds to its climax.

Overall review: ** The movie has an interesting concept and an all-star cast. The first hour is interesting as the various vantage points are laid out. But then, when the viewpoints merge in the final half hour, the movie degenerates into an extended car chase. It's not bad as car chases go, but it's a bit of a letdown after such a promising start.