The Skinny:
An assassination attempt on the president is shown over and over again from the vantage point of about 1,249 people.

The Good:
I love non-conventional storytelling, so I went into this movie expecting to have some fun while trying to figure out “whodunit.” And I’m a big fan of Dennis Quaid. On my list of favorite celebrities who look awesome when they’re scowling, I think Denny is in my top five.

Other good actors are sprinkled throughout the film, such as Forest Whitaker as a slightly cooky videographer, and Sigourney Weaver (where’s she been hiding?) as a news producer. Her talent is pretty much wasted in the role, but it’s good to see her again. Siggy, if you’re reading this, I hope you plan on making Aliens 16 soon.

The Bad:
Although I like the “keep showing the same story from different perspectives” thing, the fact of the matter is the story is just not very engaging or clever enough to justify retelling a zillion times. I mean, the first few times I was watching the screen like a hawk, searching for clues, thinking that the movie was a puzzle for the viewers to figure out. But after seeing the events for the fifth and sixth time, it becomes clear that there really is no wizard behind the curtain, nor will there be a “gotcha” moment where the movie’s writers show how much smarter they are than us. In fact, the poor writing comes to a huge, wet, sloppy finish at the ending. It’s like the writers just threw up their hands and said “Lets finish writing this stinker and go get a pizza.”

I also need to point out that Matthew Fox (that one guy from Lost) is really, really terrible. No offense, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he got stuck on a desert island with an Acting for Dummies book for a few years.

The Ugly:
At about the 17th time through the story, there is a twist so gosh-awfully unbelievable that Brinkley actually woke up from a deep sleep and threw up on the DVD cover in protest.

The Bottom Line:
Read this review 20 or 30 times, and much like Vantage Point, you’ll find there are really no surprises to be found.

Score:

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