On DVD Review: Vantage Point

When Vantage Point was in the theaters I thought to myself "that looks really good, but I'll wait for rental." Now that I've rented and in turn watched it, I wish I HAD bothered to see it in the theaters. Let me tell you why.

Vantage Point, starring Dennis Quaid, Forrest Whitaker, and Sigourney Weaver, amongst others, is a fast paced political thriller, reminiscent of the 1990's Tom Clancy adaptations starring Harrison Ford. Quaid plays a lead member of the Secret Service, in Spain to protect the President, played by William Hurt, as he speaks at a global peace summit. Long story short, as you've probably seen in the trailer, all hell breaks loose as the President is supposedly assassinated and bombs go off all over the city.

The first half of the film dedicates itself to showing 5 different views, or vantage points, of the attack on the President. We get to see what each of the 8 central characters see. The second half of the film works on bringing all 8 of those views together, and then going forward to see what happens after the point of impact. The second half of the movie is very reminiscent of films like Crash or 11:14, where the characters all come together at the end in a dynamo of performance and intensity. The second half, which is the favored half of the movie if you can't tell by now, also features a 15+ minute car chase through the plazas and narrow streets of the Spanish city the film takes place in.

If you're a fan of fast paced thrillers, rental car chases, political intrigue, and conspiracy theories, then this is the movie for you. The DVD doesn't pack too many features that make it stand out above any others, but the movie is explosive enough you probably won't care. If you can manage to snag it on HDDVD or BluRay, you should do so.

All in all, for a rental that would've been even better in the theater, I give Vantage Point a solid 7/10.