Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis and written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States in Salamanca, Spain, as seen from the various vantage points of different characters. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Eduardo Noriega, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver.
The film is often compared unfavorably to Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, which also employed storytelling through multiple perspectives. Rashomon used the multiple perspectives to question the possibility of truth, in a process called the Rashomon effect; in contrast, Vantage Point recounts a series of events which are re-enacted from several different perspectives and viewpoints to reveal a truthful account of what happened. Vantage Point also explores kidnapping, assassination and terrorism.Travis, Pete (Director). (2008). Vantage Point [Motion picture]. United States: Columbia Pictures.
The film was co-produced by Relativity Media, Original Film, and Art In Motion, and began filming in Mexico City on June 18, 2006. It premiered in Salamanca on February 13, 2008, and was released in theaters in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label on February 22. The film score, released by Varèse Sarabande on February 26, was composed by Atli Örvarsson.
Vantage Point grossed $151 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot In Salamanca, Spain, an assassination attempt on U.S. President Henry Ashton (William Hurt) unfolds from several different vantage points.
GNN producer Rex Brooks directs news coverage from a mobile television studio as the president arrives to a ceremony at the city's Plaza Mayor, for the start of an international summit against terrorism. The mayor of Salamanca introduces the President, who is shot twice as he reaches the podium, soon followed by an explosion outside the plaza. Moments later, a secondary explosion at the podium kills and injures numerous people.
Before the President takes the stage, Secret Service agent Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) notices a curtain fluttering in a supposedly vacated building, and observes American tourist Howard Lewis filming the audience. After the President is shot, Barnes tackles a man named Enrique rushing to the podium. Following the second explosion, Barnes barges into the GNN studio to view their footage. He receives a call from another Secret Service agent, who reports he is pursuing the suspected assassin; Barnes is then startled by an image from GNN's live feed.
Enrique (Eduardo Noriega), a Spanish police officer guarding the Mayor, overhears his girlfriend Veronica being embraced by a stranger and plan to meet later under an overpass. Enrique confronts Veronica, who assures him of her love as he hands her a bag. When the President is shot, Enrique rushes to protect the Mayor but is tackled by Barnes. Enrique witnesses Veronica toss the bag under the podium, causing the second explosion. Escaping the Secret Service, Enrique confronts an unseen individual at the overpass.
In the crowd, Howard Lewis chats with a man called Sam, while a little girl named Anna bumps into him. Howard notices Barnes looking at the nearby window, and films him with his camcorder. Following the explosion at the podium, Howard chases Enrique and the pursuing Secret Service agents. At the overpass, Howard views the agents from afar shooting at Enrique as he greets an individual in a police uniform under the overpass. Wounded, Enrique falls to the ground. As a speeding ambulance is about to hit Anna, Howard runs into the road after her.
Previously, Ashton, having been informed of a credible threat, returns to his hotel room while his body double proceeds to the plaza. Ashton and his personnel discuss the reason and origin for the terrorists' plot, and the return of Barnes to active duty; they watch on TV the double being shot and the first explosion. One adviser is intent on Ashton giving immediate order for retaliation against the village of origin of the terrorists they are aware of, when the second explosion shatters the room's windows. The staffer insists in earnest on retaliation, but Ashton refuses, so the negotiations can continue. A masked assailant bursts into the room, shoots the advisers, and abducts Ashton.
At the plaza, terrorist Suarez, previously seen as Sam, shoots Ashton's body double using a remote-controlled automatic rifle placed adjacent to the window that drew Barnes' attention. The rifle is retrieved by Secret Service agent Kent Taylor, who Barnes sees on the GNN live feed leaving the scene wearing a Spanish police uniform. Barnes realizes that Taylor, who happens to be his partner, is part of the terror plot. The man Enrique saw embracing Veronica is revealed to be sharpshooter Javier, whose brother is being held hostage by the terrorists to ensure Javier's cooperation. The explosion at the hotel is detonated by a suicide bomber disguised as a bellhop, who gave Javier a room key. At the hotel, Javier kills the guards and aides and kidnaps the president, placing him in an ambulance with Suarez and Veronica disguised as medics. Javier joins Taylor in a police car to rendezvous at the overpass. Barnes commandeers a car in pursuit, but gets into a collision.
At the overpass, Enrique, who did not die in the blast at the podium as intended, confronts Javier and Taylor. Javier shoots Enrique, mistakenly believing he had knowledge of his brother's whereabouts. Javier is shot dead by Taylor after demanding to be brought to his brother, killed earlier by Suarez. Enrique dies of his wounds as Barnes reaches the scene and fires at Taylor, who attempts to flee. After crashing his car, a critically injured Taylor is dragged out by Barnes, furious at his partner's betrayal, he dies right before revealing the President's whereabouts. Ashton regains consciousness in the ambulance and attacks Veronica, distracting her and Suarez as Anna runs into their path. Suarez swerves, causing the ambulance to flip over as Howard pulls Anna out of its way. Barnes runs to the ambulance where he sees Veronica lying dead. He shoots and kills Suarez before rescuing the President.
In the closing scene, a GNN news anchor states that the President is recovering and that the "lone assassin" responsible for the shooting and bombing was killed.
Cast
Production Filming In the original script, Rex Brooks was a male, and Howard Lewis was an overweight Eastern European. In Plotting an Assassination, a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film, director Pete Travis explained he cast Sigourney Weaver to give the film a strong female. When Forest Whitaker expressed interest in participating in the project, Travis welcomed the chance to work with him by Americanizing the character of Howard.
Originally scheduled for a 2007 release by Sony, the film began principal photography on June 18, 2006, in Mexico City.Vantage Point Profile . Variety. Retrieved 2011-01-03. Locations included the Casa de los Azulejos, with some exteriors shot in Cuernavaca and Puebla. The film was shot during the height of Mexico's rainy season. Travis credited cinematographer Amir Mokri and the lighting crew for making it look like the twenty-minute segment portrayed in the film unfolded under clear and sunny skies, when in fact it frequently was overcast and drizzling.
U.S. Army veteran Ron Blecker helped the lead actors prepare themselves to play Secret Service agents.Murray, Rebecca (17 February 2008). Dennis Quaid Discusses the Action Thriller 'Vantage Point' . About.com. Retrieved 2011-01-03. Quaid said they trained together for two weeks prior to shooting. One of the difficult elements of the filming were the car chase scenes. Quaid did most of the driving sequences himself except for the crashes. Quaid said of the script that "it really read so well that I felt if they could just put this on screen, it was going to work". Regarding the multiple performances of the same event, Quaid said he "played it the same way the entire time". He found the idea that audiences could "catch a different angle of that character that you couldn’t see before" an exciting aspect of the film.
Actor Matthew Fox said that "film can be a very tedious process" but showing so many different perspectives makes it even more tedious.Murray, Rebecca (17 February 2008). Matthew Fox Talks About 'Vantage Point' . About.com. Retrieved 2011-01-03. Fox called Travis "a real actor's director" who "think[s] about the character from the point of view of the character". Fox believed his training for his part was instrumental in achieving the desired effect and that the accuracy of the film was important to Travis. He also said the film shows how different people can perceive events differently depending on various criteria, such as their agenda.
Soundtrack The original motion picture soundtrack for Vantage Point was released by the Varèse Sarabande music label on February 26, 2008. The score for the film was composed by Atli Örvarsson, conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith, mixed by Alan Meyerson and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony. Dina Eaton edited the film's music.
Release Theatrical run The film had its world premiere in Spain on February 13, 2008. The next day, it premiered in Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Other European markets in Portugal and Croatia had the film premiering on April 3. It went into general theatrical release in the U.S., Canada and Mexico on February 22. Certain Asian-Pacific markets; Australia and New Zealand saw the premiere of the film on March 13, while in Malaysia it screened the following day on March 14.
Home media Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 widescreen edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on July 1, 2008. Special features for the DVD include "Surveillance Tapes: Outtakes", interviews with the cast and crew titled "An Inside Perspective, Plotting an Assassination", "Coordinating Chaos" stunt featurette, and the director's commentary. Additionally, a two-disc Special Edition DVD was also released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on July 1, 2008. Viewers have the option of seeing the film in either anamorphic widescreen or fullscreen formats. Special features include "Surveillance Tapes: Outtakes", the "An Inside Perspective, Plotting an Assassination" feature, "Coordinating Chaos" stunt featurette, the director's commentary, and a digital copy of the film that can be downloaded to a PC with a DVD-ROM option or to a Sony PSP.
The widescreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film was released on July 1, 2008. Special features include Surveillance Tapes: Outtakes, the "An Inside Perspective, Plotting an Assassination" feature, "Coordinating Chaos" stunt featurette, and the director's commentary. The disc also includes an exclusive "Vantage Viewer" feature, allowing for a tracking movement of each character's location and vantage point throughout the film. A UMD version of the film for the Sony PSP was released on July 1, 2008. The disc features dubbed, subtitled, and color widescreen format viewing options. A supplemental viewing option for the film in the media format of video on demand is available as well.
Reception Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 34% based on 158 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The consensus critics reads, "Vantage Point has an interesting premise that is completely undermined by fractured storytelling and wooden performances." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, based on 32 critics, which it describes as "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.