Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) is just back on active duty with the Secret Service on the U.S. President’s close protection detail. Understandably jumpy from being shot six months earlier, the last place Barnes wants to be is in the middle of a terrorist plot on the President’s life. Through the eyes of several people involved in the incident Vantage Point tries to uncover the truth of the terrorist plot.

Although the whole idea of this movie is to focus on each main character and show the terrorists’ attack from different viewpoints, it doesn’t hide the fact that the story just isn’t that exciting. If this had been shot in a conventional sequential manner it would have been a standard run-of-the-mill thriller. Having the story stop and spin back to the beginning to be told again through someone else’s eyes is a nice idea, but it doesn’t help to build any suspense or thrills. And, to be honest by the third or fourth time of spinning back to the beginning I was getting fed up of watching the same incident again. There were perhaps a couple of genuine moments of revelation from the switch in viewpoint, but not enough to warrant the premise.

Still, there’s nothing really offensive about this movie. The acting is okay without being outstanding. Quaid and Whitaker are really just going through the motions. Half the problem is that nobody really gets the focus long enough to become indelible on the film. You get the usual explosions, car chases and people being shot without having to invest anything into the movie. It’s a shame because there is a lot of clever thinking behind the terrorist plot and it doesn’t warrant the kind of anti-climatic ending that’s served up.

I wonder how much thought that went into the shooting of the different viewpoints took away from making the story one that’s worth watching. It really needed to back up the plot with a lot more substance  and it’s not as it wasn’t there to be had. The shock aspects of the terrorism could have been played out more and there’s a whole betrayal sub-plot that’s hardly given a second thought.  It’s a shame because there’s a great cast wasted on this film.

Vantage Point is certainly watchable but if you’re like me most of it will just wash over you. There was a point where I thought it might become an entertaining stand off as the terrorists and Secret Service try to out think each other but the promise was never realized. By the time the film stops spinning around from every viewpoint it has become an instantly forgettable movie. A solid film but don’t expect too much.