Herald rating: * *
Verdict: Gritty thriller that makes no sense
Hollywood blockbuster king Jerry Bruckheimer teams up again with director Tony Scott and actor Denzel Washington (who worked together on Man of Fire and Crimson Tide), on this big-budget action thriller with big ideas.
While it's stylish and gritty, it seems
the boys got a bit carried away and no one remembered to check whether the film actually made sense.
Deja Vu is set in Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, where a deadly bomb goes off on a ferry carrying more than 500 people. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent Doug Carlin (Washington) is pulled in to recover evidence. Drafted on to the FBI's investigative team, led by Agent Pryzwarra (a chubby looking Kilmer), Carlin discovers the FBI have a new invention that allows them to view the past as it unfolds in real time.
When the body of beautiful young woman Claire Kuchever (Patton) washes up with injuries implying she was on the ferry, Carlin discovers she was killed before the bomb went off and becomes convinced she is the key to solving the case.
By using the new technology, the team watches Claire's life unfold days earlier, hoping this will lead them to the terrorist responsible for the attack.
Carlin initially convinces his colleagues to try to alter the past so they can speed up the identification of the terrorist and, when that works, he convinces them to allow him to go back in time to save Claire, who he has become quite smitten with.
The film uses Washington's character to try to clearly explain this concept of time travel, but just when you think you have a handle on what's going on, the story takes another preposterous turn.
In the end, the film is simply too implausible to bother trying to make sense of what's going on.
It's a shame as it's a clever idea, one that has an esoteric edge, and let's face it, we've all had that sense of deja vu.
Unfortunately, the spirituality, science-fiction and romantic elements are all too much for what is essentially a cop v terrorist flick.
Having said that, director Scott knows how to do tension, so it is possible to sit back and just enjoy the action, strangely familiar as it is.
Cast: Denzel Washington, Jim Caviezel, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer
Director: Tony Scott
Running Time: 121 mins
Rating: M, contains medium-level violence
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley cinemas
