At a very important War on Terror summit in Spain, the world is shocked when US President Ashton (Hurt) is shot on the podium in front of a massive crowd. This is immediately followed by a huge bomb blast or two, which spur two Secret Service agents (Quaid and Fox) to action. Meanwhile, a news crew (including Weaver and Saldana) is filming the events, as is a tourist (Whitaker). And a local cop (Ramirez) is trying to stop the real culprits (including Taghmaoui, Noriega and Zurer). Each person only sees a piece of the puzzle.

Essentially, this is yet another action movie using a whizzy central gimmick and a nod at current events to imply that it's something original and relevant. At least the gimmick is entertaining, shifting back and forth in time and adding plot twists-a-go-go. But the more information the filmmakers dribble out, the more ludicrous the story becomes, so the finale collapses in a bundle of cliches and coincidences.

That said, at least Quaid gets an emotive back-story that gives the actor something meaty to chew on, and someone we can engage with. Everyone else is ill-defined, constantly switching sides and doing inexplicable things that defy logic. The more we learn about who is really doing what to whom, the less we understand why. And frankly, the central conspiracy that finally reveals itself is downright silly, punctuated with moments of corny sentimentality.

Essentially, the points of view just give the filmmakers a chance to show their impressively staged shootings, bombings and car chases from several different angles. But those angles don't actually tell us anything about the people in the story; and we instead learn the details through editing and smug plot exposition of the "we'll tell you when we're ready" variety. And in the end, the film abandons the structure altogether to reveal it as the thrilling yet profoundly stupid movie that it really is.

themes, language, violence

11.Feb.08