Thrilling and original, 'Vantage Point' isn't politics as usual

The political thriller "Vantage Point" is flat-out one of the more exciting and original gut-busters that Hollywood has produced in many a month. It's virtually all action, but the action is never mindless and it is full of marvelous surprises every step of the way.

Its premise has the president of the United States (William Hurt) appearing at a landmark anti-terrorism summit conference in Salamanca, Spain, that turns into a disaster when he's gunned down by a sniper from an old building in the city's main plaza.

In a riveting opening sequence worthy of John Frankenheimer at his prime, this assassination -- and two bomb explosions that further turn the scene into chaos -- is seen from the point of view of the director (Sigourney Weaver) of a television news team covering the meeting.

But when it's done, the movie rewinds 15 minutes and then sees the same events from the point of view of a nervous Secret Service agent (Dennis Quaid) who may or may not have glimpsed the assassin just moments before the shooting.

Then the movie rewinds again and shows the sequence from the point of view of a Spanish cop (Edgar Ramirez) who leaps onto the presidential podium after the assassination, is chased by the Quaid character and may or may not be involved in the conspiracy.

And then the movie rewinds yet again and shows the 15 pertinent minutes from the point of view of the president, and then yet again from the perspective of an American tourist (Forest Whitaker) who accidentally takes a Zapruder-like video of the assassination.

With each of the perspectives, the story is skillfully and enticingly enhanced, and then the movie segues into an epic -- and wonderfully complex -- chase sequence that cuts between all the participants (and picks a few new ones in the process) as it rushes to an explosive conclusion.

With no single larger-than-life hero as a focus, a script that challenges the viewer to pay attention to every image, and a story line crammed with a few too many beats (including a subplot with actor Matthew Fox that's unnecessary and a little preposterous), "Vantage Point" may not have the stuff of a blockbuster action hit.

But it definitely makes its "Rashomon" concept work. First-time feature director Pete Travis -- coming off a string of TV hits in Ireland -- has put together a scary, endlessly surprising and very satisfying movie that keeps our intellect engaged and our butts well on the edge of our seats for 90 gripping minutes.