Last week I went to the library to pick up a couple books I had on hold (hoping not to lose any of those), and I happened by the spinner for rapid view movie rentals. I love this part of the library. Free movie rental for 3 nights, and they have some newer releases. I chose Vantage Point with Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox of Lost (and who could forget Party of Five?) fame.

Anyway, I’d heard about this movie and wanted to see it in the theater, but I never made it. And then I forgot about it.

Does that happen to you? It happens to me all the time. So imagine my surprise when I stumble across a movie and suddenly remember that I couldn’t wait to see this movie. Such was my visit to the library last week.

Anyway, I sat down to watch Vantage Point last week and was wonderfully delighted. This thriller starts with the a news crew covering the President’s address on a peace summit in Spain. And then suddenly the President is shot and an explosion rocks the public square, leaving the news reporter dead. Then it promptly rewinds back to noon that day, and we see the same events unfolding through the eyes of a different character.

It retells the situation multiple times through the eyes of Thomas Barnes (Quaid), a secret service agent first returning after being shot in the line of duty; Kent Taylor (Fox), a fellow secret service agent; Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker), a father missing his children and trying to recover from a seperation from his wife; President Ashton; Enrique, a Spanish police officer; Veronica, the woman that Enrique loves; and more characters.

And with each new view of the events, we learn a little more. We discover the reasons why and how these seemingly unrelated characters are all interconnected. The alinear story telling is done pretty well. Except at the end, where I felt like because there were so many characters, some of the reasons were lost .

Overall, I did enjoy the movie. There was a bit of harsh language and violence, but it definitely kept my attention. Hoping that you’re enjoying an unexpected surprise movie until next time too. -LJ