This week’s movie rant centers on Vantage Point, the Rashomon-style terrorist thriller.  I’m a sucker for chronologically-challenged movies as well as terrorist-laden and crisis-filled movies, so I knew I was probably going to like this one.

The film shows the same scene, the assassination of the President during an anti-terrorism summit in Spain, from various…er…vantage points, with each perspective adding another piece to the overall puzzle.  The first hour of this movie is probably my favorite hour of a movie in 2008.  No boring character development, interesting characters,  up-in-your-face action, and questions that keep you interested in the movie.  However, the climax of the movie is a little forced, predictable, and illogical.

The good: Rashomon-style. This movie in a straightforward, chronologically-told manner would be your prototypical action thriller.  Nothing new.  However, this device works for me and tells a familiar story in a unique way.  Having William Hurt die over and over again doesn’t hurt either.

The bad: the terrorist plot is overly complicated and works without a hitch.  Who could come up with something like this?  Too many moving parts.  Too much technological magic.  The POTUS acting too ethical and moral.

The ridiculous: After coming up with this elaborate plan that works PERFECTLY, the brilliant terrorists get tripped up by…well, you’re gonna have to see it to believe it.  I certainly didn’t…

8 out of 10 CR’s for the first hour, 4 out of 10 CR’s for the remainder, for a total of…

6 out of 10 CR’s