Movies, with a TWIST! Part 3 - Vantage Point

I figured I should probably finish up this Movies, with a TWIST! trilogy before I get to the awesomeness that was The Dark Knight. And, with that, we complete this trifecta with Vantage Point, starring Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox, of Lost fame.

I actually really wanted to see this movie when it was out in theaters, but due to the negative reviews it had received, I couldn't find anybody to go with me. Said reviews also lowered my expectations, however I truly did enjoy this movie. While it wasn't perfect, I thought it was clever and unique. I enjoyed seeing each person's perspective, which I believe really paid off in the end, when we discovered that certain assumptions weren't all that accurate. I also thought the actors did a phenomenal job. It's not easy to convey certain emotions to the audience with such vague material.

Overall I would recommend the movie, but it's definitely not for everybody. While I enjoyed seeing all eight vantage points, I can also see how some people might feel like it dragged on a little too long.

Click the "Read More" link for my complete, spoilery review.

I typically have a rule of thumb when I watch movies and television: If you don't see it, it probably didn't happen. Like, for example, if a character allegedly dies, but we don't actually view the death (like Jin on Lost), I tend to believe that the person somehow survived. Using that logic, I typically would have spotted the Matthew Fox turn a mile away. However, the "vantage point" style of storytelling helped mask an otherwise obvious twist. By the time the revelation was made, I wasn't exactly shocked, but even so I thought it was pretty well written.

The movie's other twist, in which we come to learn that the President wasn't actually shot, WOULD have been extremely surprising had it not revealed in one of the commercial previews -- WHILE IT WAS STILL IN THE THEATER! I will never forget how some commercials had that clip in which one of the advisers says to the President "You can't make a call, everybody thinks you've been shot" (not an exact quote). Nevertheless, I thought this was an excellent twist -- and one which actually makes a great deal of sense. When we were first introduced to the President, I couldn't help but notice how cold and standoffish he acted, especially with Dennis Quaid's character (who had once saved his life). Later on, post-twist, we see that the President actually speaks of Quaid's character with great fondness and respect. All of this made their eventual reunion, in which Quaid's character again saves the President, all the sweeter.

One of the story points I really enjoyed was the ending, where we discovered that practically the entire plot was executed by one man's cellular phone.

Some additional false-assumptions that I especially liked include:
- That the Middle Eastern guy who stormed the stage after the President was shot was a terrorist (we learned he was actually a cop).
- That the Middle Eastern man and woman who romantically linked, and both terrorists (turned out she was a terrorist, but that he was just a pawn attempting to rescue his captive brother).
- That Forest Whitaker's character had spotted the sniper (he actually just saw the secret service agent checking Dennis Quaid's lead).

Overall, it really was a fun movie that kept you guessing while filling in some gaps with each new perspective. I think it's worth the four bucks to rent, but yeah, it's probably not for everybody.