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If only things didn't tie together so neatly by the end—too neatly. Characters show up at precisely the right moment amid all the chaos. Some of them even luck into achieving their objectives. It's not possible to be more specific than that, so let's just say it's unfortunate that Levy's finale isn't as smart as everything preceding it, built more on contrivance than craft.

Sigourney Weaver as a TV news producer covering the event

There's also something to be said for the complexity of the assassination plot once the details are revealed. If Vantage Point is to be believed, the iPhone is truly the ultimate remote control, capable of broad elaborate functions and multi-tasking from wherever you are. It can save the world or destroy it—and play MP3s too!

The toughest sell will actually be the gimmick itself. When Groundhog Day originally released, some viewers grew impatient seeing the same scenes play out over and over ("If I have to listen to 'I Got You Babe' one more time … "). In the same way, the crowd I saw Vantage Point with grew increasingly weary of the rewind effect, becoming more vocal every time they saw the clock turn back 25 minutes. And yet, my friend and I understood that to be the device that helped make this movie so unique and compelling.

Vantage Point is a genuine crowd-pleaser overall, brisk and suspenseful—more or less everything it promises to be. But it's apparent that not all crowds will be pleased, with responses to the storytelling style ranging from clever to repetitious. Further proof that we all view things from our own unique perspective.

Talk About It

1. What's your opinion of America's role in the world? Are we too involved in policing the nations? Or does the U.S. have responsibility as the world's leading power, combating evil wherever it rears its head? At what point does the war on terror overstep its bounds?
2. It has been said that the camera never lies. Does that still hold true today? Is there a way of knowing for sure that the video recordings we see are completely reliable?
3. At one point, the President says that true strength comes from knowing when to act and, more importantly, when not to act. Given that moment's context in the film, how does it coincide with what we're taught in the Bible about making a stand? (See Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and Matthew 5:38-40)

The Family Corner

Vantage Point is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language. The action is pretty fast and furious like the Bourne movies or an episode of 24. People are shot, but it's not overly bloody. The disturbing images refer to dead and injured bodies strewn about after the bombing; it's rather dark and evocative of other recent terrorist attacks. The film solidifies its PG-13 rating with a single use of the f-bomb—the "brief strong language"—though there are some other uses of profanity in the film, including misuse of God's name.

Photos © Copyright Sony Pictures

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