Oh how I wanted to like this movie. In the end, it has 2 things going for it: 1) The President gets shot, and 2) Rashomon-esque storytelling (same story, different viewpoints). It turns out one really can fuck up a classic film technique by destroying its purpose and filling it with garbage.
My biggest complaint against this movie is that nobody seems to act realistically...at all. A secret service agent who, apparently six months ago, took a bullet for this same President (popular guy huh?) is back on active duty despite clearly not being ready for it. I suppose the most important security job in the world doesn't require a competent mental condition, though.
Maybe what's bugging me is that, despite the very detailed and thoroughly plotted plan that is executed by the bad guys...the viewer never actually knows who was responsible for the shooting/bombing or why. They only know that a secret service agent, a Spanish police officer, some guy with Special Forces training, some chick, and another dude who is apparently the leader all really want to...well...I'm not sure.
The President that gets shot is not the President, but a double. The bad guys know this, and it's all part of their plan. They kidnap the real President, but I don't know why because that psychologically unstable Secret Service agent saves the day.
There is a goofy subplot involving one of the viewpoints about a guy who doesn't seem to really do anything except run around filming stuff, even though most of what he films has no purpose. I also learned that a cell phone can act as the following simultaneously: a phone, a walkie talkie capable of using any frequency, a remote detonator, a remote rifle operator, and, most importantly, can turn on an oscillating fan with a push of a button from a few hundred yards away. I've been watching a lot of Burn Notice but I hadn't picked that info up yet.
There is also the issue of using the technique that Rashomon invented and corrupting it to meet one's own needs. That device is about having multiple people retell the same story from their point of view to discover what the real truth was. What Vantage Point does is show the same events - sort of - from different viewopints, except when it doesn't for purposes of making sure it explains to the audience what else is going on, even though the character it's currently showcasing could not have possibly seen/heard/whatever that scene. It's a big mess and the semi-interesting car chase (car chases are always better in Europe) barely kept it above failing.
Other things that bother me: one of the Secret Service agents is part of the plot. He is clearly a dedicated member of this conspiracy and it begs the question: how the fuck did someone with his obvious beliefs ever get into the Secret Service? Wouldn't they have the most through background check known to man? Then there's the one man massacre Special Forces guy who wipes out a dozen agents by himself without missing a shot, then whiffs from 50 yards at an unmoving target before scoring a hit...in the shoulder. Not to mention that he kills most of them AFTER an assassination and TWO bombings - and the agents seem to be standing around bored. Every agent on the actual President's detail leaves the area after a fake distress call...right. Because leaving the President unprotected after that is probably what would happen. The Spanish police officer who is also part of the plot (I guess...but he doesn't seem to know what the hell is going on) manages to get a bomb through security because they turn off the metal detector for him after asking if he is armed. Pretty sure they'd scan the bag with the bomb...I mean, it was a summit of world leaders, but I imagine security is pretty lax at those things.
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