"Vantage Point" *1/2 (out of four): Choppy, point-of-view twisting thriller that never rises above its gimmickry.

It's a beautiful day in sunny Salamanca, Spain, where the President of the United States is about to hold a summit on global terror. He is introduced to a packed crowd by the local Mayor who promises a world-changing event. The President approaches the podium, raises his arms in triumph and - BLAM! BLAM! - two shots ring out! The President falls to the stage, the secret service swarms. The President's been shot! It's mayhem as the crowd flees in panic. Then suddenly - KABOOM! - the stage itself explodes in a four-story ball of fire. What could have happened here?!

You can almost hear the pitch meeting that got "Vantage Point" - a gimmicky, point-of-view twisting thriller by director Pete Travis - the green light. "What a slam-bang opening!" The agents might have said. "Then what happens?"

It turns out a lot happens. But at the same time, not so much.

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