Deja Vu

Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to Deja Vu

If you can get on board with a lot of the technology (the ability to watch the past, through walls with audio) and time travel aspects, a lot of fun can be had with Deja Vu.

It's totally illogical, with incomprehensible definitions of how things work, and I still don't know how many time lines there were, but I recommend turning your brain off and just going with it, as it is entertaining, enough.'

Deja Vu grossed $64 million at the domestic box office and was the 42nd highest grossing movie of 2006.

I had never heard of this movie, but it appeared on cable and when I saw the cast, I figured "how bad could it be?". I thought it was terrific. Nothing of great dramatic or historical significance, of course, but who cares? Denzel is his usual infinitely watchable self, Val Kilmer is quirky with yet another interesting dialect and Adam Goldberg is fantastic. All three are smooth, assured and entertaining. A lot of posters and reviewers talked about how "unbelievable" the science fiction aspect of the plot was, but that never bothers me. Once I figure out what I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief about, I just do so and enjoy what the filmmakers are doing. I actually found this particular sci-fi plot quite intriguing and really liked having to try to follow its twists and turns through the action.

As has been said before, this is definitely a Sci Fi/ Film Noir/Action/Romance. How many of those have you come across? Highly recommended. Big fun and smart besides.

It's a real shame that everything I had read about Déjà Vu concerned the high-powered explosions and loud clatter of guru/producer Jerry Bruckheimer. No mention, except maybe as a footnote, was given to A-list director Tony Scott and the magic he has woven in his past three films. The man who brought us Top Gun has seen a sort of revival in style lately with the entertaining Spy Game, the amazing Man on Fire, and the kinetic Domino. Scott has taken the quick cuts of music videos and has infused them into his shooting style. His editor better be making some good money as these films fly by with filters, jump-cuts, grain, and camera angles swiveling at every turn. Greatly overshadowed by brother Ridley Scott and his more serious, award-winning epics, Tony has been pumping out some of the most solid and entertaining films of the past couple decades. With a reuniting of semi-regular star Denzel Washington, Déjà Vu proves that when Bruckheimer is paired with a like mind, his usual drivel can become great. Scott shows us how to hone the explosions, noise, and clutter to an effective level and gives us a helluva ride.

Déjà Vu could have easily reduced itself to timetravel farce, going by the books to show a time warp in order to solve a crime. The far-fetched premise of being able to see the past as it happens four and a half days later should seem crazy and by watching the previews you are given the idea that it will be just a series of do-overs. Fortunately the trailers these days show a totally different movie than what has been crafted. Scott and his screenwriters have not only developed a sci-fi tale seeped in enough reality to at least be looked upon as plausible for the sake of the story, but they nicely tidy up any chance of their being a plothole. Our story begins with a devastating domestic terrorist act upon a ferry carrying over 500 people, Navy and family. Washington's ATF agent is brought in and discovers that it was no accident. Intrigued by the efficiency he displays, an FBI agent, played with nicely effective restraint by Val Kilmer, calls him in to check out a new toy they have to find who the perpetrator is. During the use of this screen of the past, Denzel acquires a feeling of obligation to do all he can to prevent what he sees from occurring in the present, no matter what consequences that might entail for the future. The quest to stop the violence begins with an attractive young woman who unknowingly has become an integral part in what will ultimately transpire.

The beauty of this film is that with multiple timelines being shown parallel to each other, there are many questions that desperately need answering. To credit all involved, they appear to have put themselves in the audience's shoes and piece-by-piece wrote in a reason for everything. Anything that is seen either in the past, present, or future has a reason for being there and will be intelligently explained. Also, the performances are stellar, Denzel and Kilmer as well as a quietly maniacal Jim Caviezel and the emotionally exasperated Paula Patton, and the visuals unique. While Scott has toned down the ultra-kinetic cuts and filters for the main action, his style is still stamped on the graphics of their screen showing the past. The motion trails and speed scans lend a stylized digital editing program feel and are gorgeous to watch. Déjà Vu's best sequence, however, is the crazy car chase during the present in pursuit of a vehicle in the past, definitely a rush and orchestrated almost flawlessly. Even though Ridley gets the accolades and Tony gets the hack/overproduced label, I must say, while they are the best directing duo in Hollywood, I might have to give the edge on pure cinematic entertainment to the younger Tony. He is on a roll and doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

I usually like sci-fi when it's pure sci-fi. I usually like present day drama when it's believably real. Disaster, at least for me, looms large when sci-fi meets real life drama. So here we have a present day crime thriller crossed with sci-fi time travel...And, this movie kicks butt, works so well, in fact, it's nuances should be studied in film school. It's original enough to be compelling-where we are not in some distant future, but the here and now.

The story, the characters, and the effects mesh well to suspend belief to the point that you "get on-board" and enjoy the ride. This is the way to do sci-fi with believable real life situations. The cinematography, the implementation of technology, and even a beautiful (but presently dead) damsel in distress, combine to give the actors, who are uniformly good to excellent, the boost to put this in rarefied good sci-fi territory. Genre fans are shoo-ins and those who think they don't like sci-fi should enjoy this one too. 7.5 to 8 out of 10.

The reason I waited a few years to do this review is that I wanted to see the film a few times - something that reviewers should consider before dashing off a critique.

I have seen Deja Vu four times top to bottom and my comments:

1. Near perfect hi-concept film. Involves sci-fi, time travel, detective work, etc. But when push comes to shove it is about connection and saving the person you love.

2. Technically flawless. Well written. Great acting. And with Denzel holding the camera scene to scene even if there were some flaws, you would not notice them anyway

3. I will be honest. The picky reviews bother me because the purpose of the IMDb is to create a record for viewers of the futures, not a whine fest for reviewers of the present. I am a film buff (see my other reviews) and I tried to make a list simply of other films in this category, yet alone films that are this good. Maybe a dozen tops in the last 100 years. Which means that films like this are rare and when a good one comes along you treasure it, not belittle it.

Highly recommended. Hi emotional impact. A feel-good film.