VANTAGE POINT — * 1/2 — Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt; rated PG-13 (violence, profanity, gore, brief drugs)

"Vantage Point" uses several of them, as it tries to make some sense of a plot that does not make any sense whatsoever.

This action/suspense-thriller is hopelessly convoluted and contrived. The filmmakers are clearly trying to duplicate the style and feel vastly superior television series "24."

They're also trying to mimic the much-imitated, 1950 Akira Kurosawa classic "Rashomon," with its multiple narrative perspectives. However, the endless flashbacks, flash-forwards, slo-mo camera work, quick rewinds and other storytelling gimmicks employed here becomes wearying in a hurry.

They also complicate what should be a fairly straightforward premise. The story is set during a fictional peace summit in Spain. U.S. President Ashton (William Hurt) is unveiling his new anti-terrorism initiative when he's apparently assassinated by an unseen gunman.

But before anyone can really react to the deadly shooting, it's followed by a pair of deadly bomb explosions.

Among the witnesses trying to piece together what happened are a pair of surviving Secret Service agents (Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox), a cable television news producer (Sigourney Weaver), an American tourist (Forest Whitaker) and a Spanish cop (Eduardo Noriega).

While the film's revealing trailer and ads tease that there's a mystery to solve, British television director Pete Travis and first-time screenwriter Barry Levy don't offer up any clues that would allow audiences to do that.

Besides, the resolution is so ludicrous that it's not even worth an effort to predict the outcome. Also, some strong, child-in-peril elements are extremely distasteful.

Even the cast seems either catatonic or completely uninterested, save for perhaps the sleepy-eyed but always intense Whitaker, who deserves much better than this material affords.

"Vantage Point" is rated PG-13 for strong scenes of violent action (shootings, vehicular and explosive mayhem, violence against women and child-peril moments), occasional strong profanity (including one usage of the so-called, "R-rated" curse word), gore and blood, and brief drug content (prescription medications). Running time: 90 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com