Spoilers

This donkeys years ago was an HMV barging special. I used to go to HMV once every 2 months with £30 & see how many DVD i could get for that money, & this was one of them. I think it was a if you buy anything over £10 you get this for £2 so it was a no brainer & for its time it was very clever, so lets see about 10 years later, if not more, as to how well this holds up in 2024.

The films structure is cool. Starting off with one story for about 10 minutes & then slowly revealing the same story from different peoples points of view & then ending up with the final point of view being more or less that of the villain of the piece which shows how they all come together. Thus who has the best vantage point of the entire film.

I like the fact it starts with the news coverage thats there to watch the president give a speech who are too busy trying to get a scoop but end up being helpful in a very small but significant way that you dont find out until the very end of the film. It also has Sigourney Weaver as the producer & a very young Zoe Saldana as the news reporter who tragically gets caught up in it all & dies. It’s just very clever to see how a live new production like that happens.

The rest of the actors were very much flavours of the month. Dennis Quaid was on the comeback trail, William Hurt was the big draw, Matthew Fox was the up & coming hit in lost, Forrest Whitaker could make whatever he wanted after he won his Oscar & Edgar Ramirez was everyone’s dodgy hit man in every film when this was made.

It is a bit irritating hearing that church bell go off every time to reset the story & once youve seen the rewind, when it does it every time your just like hang on. Also it shows us nothing new when it flies back to help us out with who did it or who people really are. Also each ending of the separate stories left you on a cliff hanger so you didnt know what would come next.

Even when i first saw this & didnt know it was coming i could tell Fox was going to be one of the bad guys in this. Everything he did was setting others up to fail for him to then slip out of the way & help cause the trouble & then almost get away with it.

Its a redemption story for Quaids character, he got shot before this & now suddenly hes back on active duty with the president, hes doing all he can to protect people & save the day but around every corner hes being targeted. He in theory is the hero of the story for saving the president but he just happens to be in the right place at the right time.

If im honest, my favourite vantage is the one from the president. Because he is not shot on the stage, they send out a body double & he watches it all happen on tv & then his hotel is attacked & he is taken hostage & knocked out. I didnt see that coming & it was very clever, it then also as it leaves you in suspense, takes you straight into act 3.

The villain just being a random guy someone talked to was brilliant. That was so clever. How he was so calm & had it all planned & even knew theyd send a fake president, & had a fake shooter & got everyone else to do his dirty wake or got framed. Also assassination through your mobile phone, by hitting the screen a couple of times was very interesting back then, not everyone had a smart phone then. Theres a few bricks being used.

Why do americans always just say its europe? do you not know we are all different countries… seriously? say your in spain. urgh! does my head in.

If im honest the over all ending is a little lack lustre. I know i watch to many movies now & have seen this before but it was a little bit cringe watching it back seeing it all happen.
The ambulance crashes as the little girl crosses the road, with the president & the terrorist in it, the other baddies all turn on each other, a lack lustre car chase. It was all just a little too hollywood & perfect & coincidental when you watch it back & yes of cause Quaid saves the president & The news just goes the president is okay, & now to the weather. Typical.

Yea this isnt the best film to look back on if im honest. I know ive not seen it in a while so i was hoping id forgotten some moments, but this is a product of its time & the films that were made then. There is still a time & a place for it, but lets be honest, this isnt in anyone’s Letterboxd top 4 is it.