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Everyone has
experienced the unsettling mystery of déjà vu--that flash of memory when
you meet someone new you feel you've known all your life or recognize a
place even though you've never been there before. But what if the
feelings were actually warnings sent from the past or clues to the
future? It is déjà vu that unexpectedly guides ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel
Washington) through an investigation into a shattering crime.
Called in to recover evidence after a bomb sets off a cataclysmic
explosion on a New Orleans Ferry, Carlin is about to discover that what
most people believe "is only in their heads" is actually something far
more powerful--and will lead him on a mind-bending race to save hundreds
of innocent people. (Taken from Yahoo Movies)
The synopsis
above doesn't tell you much in the way of the sci-fi influence so I will
spill the beans, which may be considered a spoiler. Some readers may
want to skip to the next section but i won't give away too much. You are
warned, lol. See, the government has the technology that enables them to
see four days into the past. That's all I'm gonna say as it would ruin
it for you. Let's just say that once Carlin learns what this machine can
do, he uses it above and beyond the potential that anybody ever
expected.
Denzel
Washington finally lightens it up a bit after the last few movies I've
seen him in. John Q , The
Manchurian Candidate, The Bone Collector, and Man On Fire, where he
basically plays the same character (himself) thrust into extreme
situations. In fact he was starting to fall into the same rut that
Harrison Ford has been in for
years – only playing himself. Thankfully, he breaks the monotony, not
only in his performance, but in his choice of films. I have always
enjoyed his science fiction influenced films like Fallen and Virtuosity.
Déjà Vu is a slight return to those types of movies. The rest of the
team, Val Kilmer, Adam Goldberg, Elden Henson and Erika Alexander serve
the film well. Goldberg and Henson add the tech and humor, Kilmer is the
straight man and Alexander is the heart/conscience of the group.
Rounding out the cast is Jim Caviezel as the patriotic nut case and
Paula Patton as the catalyst (and weak romance side plot) for Carlin's
continued involvement.
The film has
a slight undercurrent of humor. Not as in funny ha-ha, but as these guys
are trying to cope with a technology and a situation that they know next
to nothing about and have to vent their frustrations some way.. How else
would you cope? By getting off a few good one liners. This lends a more
realistic touch to the film only made better because of the fact that
this is a new technology that they don't really understand. They are
trying to figure out the best possible way to use this machine.
Tony Scott
is one of the few directors that I can recognize their style. I really
enjoyed his last film Domino, the really strange visual style fit that
movie perfectly. He has toned those effects down quite a bit using that
style in only one aspect of the film. I thoroughly enjoyed Déjà Vu and
plan on renting it if not outright buying it on DVD. It has everything.
Action, suspense, drama, humor, a bit of romance and the sci-fi factor
thrown in for good measure. Another all around good movie. While it may
not win any awards it sure isn't your normal popcorn fare either.
Keep
reading,
Mitch E
mitchemerson@hotmail.com
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