This movie is a thriller, simply summarised as 8 different views of an assassination attempt on the US president at an anti-terrorism summit in Spain. But it is not as simple as that. There are different points of view which are cleverly interwoven to help the viewer see the connections between all the characters.
Without giving too much of the plot away, the story unfolds with some unexpected twists and turns along the way which keeps the viewer intrigued.
What we liked…
- Rewinding to see the assassination from different perspectives. This is what makes the film unique from a standard chronological recipe.
- The car chase in the latter part of the movie. Mostly a great chase and worth all the Hollywood money to demolish some European imports.
- Dennis Quaid in the role of Agent Thomas Barnes. Very good casting.
- Sigourney Weaver playing the television news producer. Excellent in the part, and while not a main part in the movie, she was a great fit for the role.
- Sam’s mobile phone. Yes technology can always be a highlight – this is an ultimate gadget which would be at home in any Bond movie.
What we did NOT like…
- While the different perspectives are a unique selling point for this movie, you are often left wondering how realistic some of the situations are with respect to interweaving of characters. With the chaos of a bomb going off, how easy is it to find people? Not at all easy. And being slammed by a truck usually leaves someone incapacitated, but Dennis Quaid walks out of the crash like nothing really happened. But hey its Hollywood after all – we’ll let some of these fly…
- A couple of less than A grade actor performances, which as a result makes Dennis Quaid and Sigourney Weaver stand even more.
- Cliche Central in some scenes, along with some corny American centric lines – IE “Thank you Mr President”.
In summary, a good thriller with a couple of interesting twists. Overall rating – 7/10
Great review, I couldn’t agree more!
Sad about those European imports though
But love a good car chase.