Schwapp@TheMovies: VANTAGE POINT

VANTAGE POINT: The Best Place To View It Isn't The Theater

At an advanced screening Tuesday evening, I had the opportunity to view the film set to hit theaters on Friday and came to the following conclusion: Vantage Point tries so hard to be different, that it loses focus on being good.

We get a fairly good start that demonstrates the potential of the movie. We see the chaos set loose in Spain that could lead to a great mystery/thriller film. But right at the end of the first or second "vantage point" that the film gives us, the downfall of the movie begins.

The first vantage point is from the van of the CNN analog (headed up on location by Sigourney Weaver) that is covering the peace talk summit that presents the opportunity for the assassination attempt that the film centers around. While the interplay between the various people putting the coverage together isn't perfect, the moments presented from inside that van after the "fit hits the shan" really captures the movie-goers' attention.

It is just too bad that they spoil it with such a bad soap opera reaction from Dennis Quaid to something he sees on the screen when his "vantage point" intersects with theirs. It is such an old school mystery movie device that it can't help but come across as far too blunt or cheesy. The only thing that could have made it more clunky would been to have used organ music (think silent film style) or the classic "dum dum dum" sounds.

This is the path to the movie's failure, as it leads to their "twist" being all too easy to see coming. This is when I lost considerable interest in the film.

Judging by the reactions of the rest of the crowd, their most disappointing decision of the film was to continually pull back to 12:00pm to check out everyone's "vantage point" from there. From going back to that exact moment to actually "rewinding images" on the screen, the groans grew more audible each time it occurred. Such a device has been used much more effectively by other films, with only slight differences in style.

With the twist made transparent, the viewer is made to sit through a nice chunk of set-up that they're no longer compelled to be interested in. The viewer is left to feel like the 6 year old on a long road trip, constantly saying to themselves, "are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet?"

Along the way, we're presented with a few items that could be much more interesting if not for the "vantage point overkill" effect. For instance, there is a lost girl looking for her mother that wanders into danger. Once this is presented, it is repeatedly beaten over the head of the viewer to the point that you're almost rooting for her horrible death. Anything else would just seem to be a ridiculous waste of all of the attention.

The movie tends to largely coast on the "isn't our way of viewing this from an excessive number of angles great" at the expense of attention to plot and detail. So many elements are pedestrian in the film, but one of the failures that sticks out is the constant reference to the President as POTUS. The Secret Service assign a much less obvious codename to those they protect. For instance, Obama's SS codename is Renegade. It takes precious little time to research such things. If researched and not used, it is some miscalculation involving underestimating the intelligence of the viewing audience. Whatever the rationale, it is one of the many little things that add up to a film that gives you more reasons to step out of its world than to immerse yourself in it.

Finally, the ending places the final nail in the film's proverbial coffin. The manner in which a split-second decision by the lead terrorist/cold-blooded killer effectively brings about the conclusion is just utterly unbelievable. The action is less believable than the main conceit in PRETTY WOMAN, which doesn't fly nearly as well for this type of film as it does in a romantic comedy.

If you're tempted to see this flick, please re-think it. If you still feel yourself inching towards the local multiplex, recall how you felt about The Sentinel...then decide if you'd feel satisfied with paying admission to a slightly less realistic or competent film.