For all its whiz-bang technique and unabashed love for the "Rashomon” storytelling device, the boilerplate political intrigue of "Vantage Point” generates only mild shocks. It is a film that spends far too much time cribbing from better thrillers, loudly proclaiming its "importance” and assaulting viewers with an annoyingly continuous visual device.

"Vantage Point” begins in a satellite truck for the Global New...