Déjà vu is a compulsively exciting and intellectually intriguing year-end thriller. Déjà Vu opens with the bombing of a New Orleans ferry crowded with happy families and U.S. Navy sailors about to go on holiday.
ATF Agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is called into the investigation. He quickly figures out it's an act of domestic terrorism, and gets hooked on the case when he finds the washed-up body of a beautiful young woman who was killed before the attack. The movie takes a sharp turn toward sci-fi as the federal agents roll out a new video time-machine as an investigatory tool: a kind of Google Earth device that sees what was happening four days in the past. There's one catch, however, for Carlin, FBI Agent Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer) and techie Denny (Adam Goldberg). The footage, which cannot be paused or rewound, is limited to a timeframe of four-and-a-half days ago. When Carlin tries to manipulate the video by going back four-and-a-half days and thwarting the suspected terrorist's plans, he literally walks right into his own déjà vu.
Denzel Washington carries the movie with comfort, assurance and a quiet charisma. The script (by Terry Rossio and Bill Marsilii) is unusually intelligent and challenging. The puzzle it creates for the audience actually adds up at the end in a clever way. The first 10 minutes of the film make up a terrific bit of filmmaking, layering on different elements one by one.
Déjà Vu has enough style and forward momentum to keep viewers interested. Dan's mvoies site give Deja Vu great rating. |
