Search - Vantage Point (Two-Disc Special Edition) on DVD

Mind-numbing repetition of scenes makes you fast forward

Pat Nava | San Francisco, CA | 06/11/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The "vantage points" of each witness to the attempted assassination and subsequent kidnapping of the President of the United States is really annoying. Forest Whitaker's dumba** character could has been eliminated (yeah, like a fumbling guy like him could really run that fast - laughable). The really stupid ending of Dennis Quaid chasing the bad guys who kidnap the President was long and arduous. The chase is not in any way shape or form in the classic car chases of "Bullitt," "The Seven-Ups" or "Ronin" The chase went on for what seemed like miles from the explosion(s) leaves you wondering why people were still running in in panic on the streets miles away(?) Poor direction and the aforementioned repetitious scenes rate this lower than low."

When Schizophrenia Is Fun

D. Mikels | Skunk Holler | 06/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"To accompany the multiple voices I hear in my head comes the thriller VANTAGE POINT, a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride told from the--you guessed it--vantage points of several characters: from a TV producer (Sigourney Weaver), to a Secret Service agent (Dennis Quaid), to a tourist with a videocam (Forest Whitaker). . .to the POTUS himself (William Hurt). I thought the constant rewinding--and replaying--of the same hectic scene (an assassination attempt on the President who is abroad in Espanol) was terrifically invigorating; different perspectives make for different realities (what appears as major to one character turns out to be inconsequential to another).



The action is tight, the pacing adrenaline-fast, and the suspense and intrigue aromatically heady, as a group of terrorists perp a complicated plot involving murder and mayhem (for reasons known only to themselves, certainly not to the viewer). It's as over the top as elephants flying to the moon on gossamer wings (for instance, access to the Prez is a snap), yet the titanic suspension of disbelief is half the fun. While others have lamented that VANTAGE POINT is nothing more than a copycat of 'been there, done that,' to me, having never seen an episode of 24, this flick delivers original excitement and suspense by the boatload.

--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning"