The film begins from the point of view of a broadcast on GNN (Global Network News...highly original), being run by producer Rex Brooks(Sigourney Weaver) as the summit is about to take place. Rex is in the midst of a mild argument with her on-air reporter Angie Jones(Zoe Saldana), when the President is shot. As Angie tries to regain her composure enough to continue reporting, another explosion is heard from outside the square, and then a final blast rips the square itself apart, killing dozens, Angie includ-ed. Ms. Saldana can count her lucky stars that her character is killed off early. If you sit through this film, you'll be wishing you were one of the folks in the square.

     The problem is that once the bomb goes off, and as Rex tries to regain control of the situation from her mobile trailer newsroom, the picture freeze-frames, then rewinds to a point twenty-three minutes earlier: 12:00 noon. We are then introduced to secret service agent Thomas Barnes(Dennis Quaid), a man only recent-ly reinstated to the SS ranks, following a nearly fatal injury a year earlier, when he personally took a bullet meant for President Ash-ton. Barnes is dedicated to the job, and although still shaky, is determined to make certain Ashton is safe during the summit. We all know what's about to happen, but once the bomb goes off, we find Barnes survives and has the wits about him to make certain the President is whisked away in an ambulance and then begins to assemble tactical reports on what has happened. However, just as things get interesting, the image freeze-frames, rewinds, and we are back at 12:00 noon.

     Welcome, my friends, to Groundhog Day: Part 2!

     Vantage Point isn't the most horrible story that could have been told...it's mildly entertaining in fact, even though the overall tale is completely pedestrian and the twists and turns depend on an amount of coincidence which will stretch your suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. The problem is with all the rewind-ing, which happens no less than 5 times, as we are introduced to Rex, Barnes, native police officer Enrique(Eduardo Noriega), assistant terrorist Veronica(Ayelet Zurer) and even the point of view of eight year-old Anna(Alicia Jaziz Zapien)! And really...does a supposedly serious take on terrorism and espionage need the point of view of an eight year old?

     This misguided style of storytelling will illicit guaranteed groans and unintentional laughter from your audience, as it did from the screening audience with whom I saw the film. You'll also get a kick from watching the sadly out-of-shape Forest Whitaker(The Great Debaters) as an American tourist, running after two perfectly in shape secret service agents, determined to help them catch a man who is believed to be one of the terrorists that set off the bomb. Besides this, the only enjoyment to be received from watch-ing Vantage Point is to see how many times your audience collect-ively shouts out "Groundhog Day!" every time the film rewinds(to be honest, I unintentionally got the ball rolling with my audience, and we shouted it out three of the five times the gimmick occurred).

     Unlike that venerable Bill Murray comedy however, Vantage Point contains few laughs that are well-timed, and less than half the charm. The terrorists' ultimate goals in both shooting the President and abducting him are never truly made clear, beyond the intention of sparking chaos and fear. Each of the terrorists, in fact, is a cardboard cutout lifted from any recent generic film dealing with such ideals. The same with the heroes: although still suffering from a type of post traumatic stress, Barnes leaps into action with no hesitation in order to do his job efficiently and properly. President Ashton is a straightforward man of ideals and principles. When he's advised to level a retaliation at a terrorist base with probable ties to the person responsible for the bomb-ing, Ashton refuses, stating "We currently have the sympathy of the world on our side. Let's utilize that!" I'm amazed that at this point, "America the Beautiful" didn't start playing on the sound-track, and everyone on screen didn't stop and salute the flag. Of course if they had, the image would've probably freeze-framed, rewound, and we'd be back at that cursed 12:00 noon spot again.

     I guess this rewind aspect of Vantage Point would actually make for a good drinking game as well. The movie runs just over an hour and a half, yet all the rewinds and reintroductions easily take up some 45 minutes of that time. Come to think of it, if you do decide to take in this flick, sneak a small bottle of whiskey in and take a sip with your pals every time the picture freeze-frames. You'll be plastered in no time, which might be the best way to sit through this mild diversion of a movie. The main terrorist, Suarez (Said Taghmaoui) uses his PDA in a manner bordering on some-thing out of a James Bond movie, rather than how one really works, to utilize his remote-control guns and keep track of the activities of everyone in his cell. There's a car chase with Barnes going after two of the terrorists that is simply preposterous, not just because it defies the laws of physics and reason, but also the rules of probability, in regard to how many pedestrians and objects just happen to be missed in the high-speed pursuit! It also doesn't help that the car chase seems to take forever, and for such a(supposedly) high-speed rush, is one of the most boring and poorly shot(did cinematographer Amir M. Mokri really shoot

The Joy Luck Club?) ever filmed.

     Sadly for the cast, it seems everyone gave their all...which is in itself a tragedy, since their efforts would have been better expend-ed in the service of a superior script and a more capable director. Vantage Point is the type of film that, once you leave the theater and come back out into the light, will have you feeling as if you've just escaped a brutal imprisonment at the hands of terrorists(Travis and Levy) and will have you quickly doing your best to erase all memory of the harrowing ordeal from your mind.