Terrorists and bank jobs seem to be the dominant force in the thriller genre at the moment, this one though had a slightly different (refreshing?) approach. The tale is told from the perspectives of eight witnesses to an event, and then played out to its conclusion, when we see how wrong (or right) your own assumptions prove to be. This might seem like an excellent idea, but in execution, was it all that projected hype promised? Directed by Pete Travis, this is a non-linear look at the events leading up to, and the aftermath of, an assassination attempt, as viewed by the witnesses, and their interactions and the characters interpretations of the situation, as the story progresses.

In summary, the story revolves around President Ashton (played by William Hurt) delivering a speech on terrorism as an event in Spain. In the ensuing drama, he is shot, and shortly afterwards a bomb explodes, causing mayhem and chaos, and leaving unknown numbers dead and many more fleeing in all directions. This is all overseen from the control console of a mobile TV Newsroom, just off the main site, where they see the entire event on TV in real time. That is the action told in detail so far, what happens now is the crux of the movie, since the action is rewound and replayed for each of the eight witnesses (including Hurt, Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox and Forest Whitaker), but from their own perspective.

This is a not entirely original concept, because flashback and non-linear storylines are commonplace these days, but it does have a certain promise that could make for good viewing. Sadly, for me at least that was not the case. Some of the sequences were very good, the twists acceptable, but in the end, the rewind/replay had me reaching for the remote to fast forward to something new. The final play with the ending and completion of the rather overplayed action parts, left me cold, I was simply glad the bloody thing wasn’t going to be replayed again.

3.5.0/10, Endless repeats does not a good movie make.