Vantage Point tells story of assassination from 5 different points of view

* * * (out of 5)

After a great buildup and some layered story telling, done in Rashomon style, the payoff is too quick, a little inconclusive and kind of ordinary. The first time director, Pete Travis, mixes in these really cool visuals like a big terrorist bomb going off and a great car chase that rivals The Bourne movies, but then has a script that seems like a throwaway from "24".

Some of the surprises are dulled by the fact that the bad guys look like bad guys and the good guys seem to be good. There was one big surprise in the second half, but I don't think I bought it. Not since the '70s have I have seen this many good, big name actors in a movie that was beneath them. Dennis Quaid, Forrest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt. This was the 21st Century version of Airport '75. Are all these people that hard up for work?

The Freditor