Vantage Point

A very energetically filmed thriller where you feel like you’re assembling a jigsaw without the picture on the box. It’s full of surprises. Telling the same story from various points of view is not at all stereotypical and the mode of storytelling often reminds one of Kiefer’s Twenty-four and the Bourne movies will definitely spring to mind during the closing car chase. The actors (perhaps with the exception of the weird-acting Forest Whitaker) give very decent performances. You find yourself crossing fingers for Dennis Quaid right from the beginning and that Matthew Fox is very surprising again. I had a great time. 80% (06/04/2008)

Vantage Point has such dynamic direction that I momentarily forgot about my prejudices toward action movies and even considered giving it five stars. But as the minutes went by, the simplicity of the film started to surface, with the script piling up one cliché after another and logical holes appearing in the plot. The moment when the kidnapped American president bravely started fighting with terrorists ultimately led me to give it a mere three stars. Nevertheless, it's not below average, as the film has a fast pace and offers a number of thrilling scenes. Overall impression: 65%. (04/24/2009)

A fun bite-sized snack that greatly entertained me for about an hour and a half, but its quirkiness bothers me. It doesn't hold back on adrenaline, nor on good actors, but I would have enjoyed it much more if it had truly been the originally intended script for a full-length 24 movie, and if I could have found common ground with the main character (in this case Bauer). As it is, it remains effectively, but excessively loosely designed trauma. The direction is brisk, the interweaving of characters and storylines is sufficient, but only a few moments and the current culmination of all perspectives stayed in my mind. (07/13/2008)

"Pete, let's throw in an unorthodox time loop, a Bourne-esque car chase, a cute guy from Lost, and an elite cast that's not yet a write-off, and it'll work." It's out of your head before you walk down the back row of the multiplex stairs. At the beginning, the repetitive time loop seems a bit tiresome, but as time goes on, the increasingly convoluted plot manages to at least activate the jaded senses of the tired viewer. The short runtime (one hour and twenty without credits) and the abrupt ending proves that 40 million is really not much for an action flick :o) (05/12/2008)

For a dime-a-dozen commercial product, this movie is well thought out and engaging from the first minute to the last. In the end, it doesn’t really leave the audience with anything deep and doesn’t invite repeated viewing, but it will keep your eyes glued to the screen for those 90 minutes. And the only people irritated by the ending might be those who have never seen a single American mainstream action movie. (05/02/2008)