Blurry Lines of Sight Tarnish a Solid ‘Vantage Point’

vantage-point-film-posterWhen the same story is told eight different times through the eyes of eight different people, one expects the story being told to be filled with plenty of opinion, back story and detail.

“Vantage Point,” however, directed by Pete Travis, who makes his big-screen directorial debut, lacks the feel of a film that attempts to pull off such a daunting task. Nonetheless, the film is still an entertaining watch and proves to be the movie that relights the star-power fire of Dennis Quaid, while giving Matthew Fox the versatility to be taken seriously in different types of roles.

In 2006, “Babel,” a film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, was released and took a similar path as this picture. However, director Alejandro González Iñárritu was able to make each segment and narrative of the film feel different enough to captivate the audience and fill in the gaps of the story. What “Vantage Point” does is simply rehash the same story and provide a few more details than the last person was able to reveal. This slow-moving plot that ends with a happily-ever-after ending isn’t exactly going to win Travis any awards. Regardless of that, however, there are a few ingredients in the film’s clam chowder to make you reach for your spoon.

Quaid (“Flight of the Phoenix,” “Enemy Mine”) does a great job as Thomas Barnes, the jittery Secret Service agent with something to prove. If his subtle demeanor wasn’t enough to capture his cool, laid-back type of bravado, his wit and ability to clothesline people and exhibit Al Unser-like driving skills will. Simply put, this role is something new for Quaid, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing for him. He pulls off the never-say-die action hero better than actors half his age in this film and is one of the best reasons to see the feature.

The same can be said for heartthrob Mathew Fox, who’s known for his role on the TV mega-hit, “Lost.” Already armed with killer-good looks and a charisma that was probably responsible for landing him the role, Fox does a more than solid job as agent Kent Taylor. Rather than spoil the plot, let’s just say that Fox’s role definitely will shock fans of his work on “Lost” and will cast him in a different light in the future.

Add in solid supporting roles by Forrest Whitaker (“Ghost Dog,” “The Last King of Scotland”) and Sigourney Weaver (“Ghostbusters,” “Aliens”), and you have a cast that is capable of delivering a quality film. However, the talent in the film far outweighs the sum of the films parts, as the story isn’t nearly as deep and multilayered as you’d expect it to be, making it an adequate 90-minute experience, rather than a breathtaking one.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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