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[Elva Stuller]

VantagePoint 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. Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver star.

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.[2]

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 the Columbia Pictures label on February 22. The film score, released by Varse Sarabande on February 26, was composed by Atli rvarsson.

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 notices a curtain fluttering in an allegedly 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, 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. Lewis notices Barnes looking at the nearby window, and films him with his camcorder. Following the explosion at the podium, Lewis chases Enrique and the pursuing Secret Service agents. At the overpass, Lewis 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, Lewis 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, before 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 Lewis 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 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.[2] When Forest Whitaker expressed interest in participating in the project, Travis welcomed the chance to work with him by Americanizing the character of Howard.[2]

Originally scheduled for a 2007 release by Sony, the film began principal photography on June 18, 2006, in Mexico City.[3] 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.[2]

Actor Matthew Fox said that "film can be a very tedious process" but showing so many different perspectives makes it even more tedious.[5] Fox called Travis "a real actor's director" who "think[s] about the character from the point of view of the character".[5] 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.[5] He also said the film shows how different people can perceive events differently depending on various criteria, such as their agenda.[5]

The original motion picture soundtrack for Vantage Point was released by the Varse Sarabande music label on February 26, 2008.[6] The score for the film was composed by Atli rvarsson and mixed by Alan Meyerson. Dina Eaton edited the film's music.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] 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.[9]

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.[9] 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.[9] A supplemental viewing option for the film in the media format of video on demand is available as well.[10]

Writing for The Boston Globe, Ty Burr said the "rewind/retell gambit quickly grows tiresome" and the result of the film was "both clever and stupid - an interesting feat."[20] James Berardinelli, writing for ReelViews, called the film a "fast-paced motion picture that fails the 'reality test' but maintains a certain intensity for its entire running length. It's entertaining in the same way that an episode of 24 is entertaining, but without the lead character shouting 'dammit!' every five minutes."[21] Scott Foundas of The Village Voice said the film encompassed "multiple perspectives" that "are all foreplay, it turns out, for an orgiastic third-act car chase during which the movie's story threads converge in a way that makes Paul Haggis seem like a master of Balzacian realism."[22] Foundas said the most exciting aspect of the film was that it was continually nearing its end.[22]

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