Deja Vu (2006)

Originally Reviewed

Saturday August 18, 2007

Ever since Denzel was handed the Academy Award in 2001 for best actor (which deserved to go to Russell Crowe for A Beautiful Mind) I have never been very fond of the actor. But one thing even I have to admit, Denzel can sure make an entertaining action flick! Deja Vu was an incredible surprise, half expecting an old washed up Denzel and a played out theme I was please to discover I was quite wrong. Unlike the film's title this is one movie you won't be saying, "haven't I seen this before?", as it spans the implausible to bring you something half way original.

Denzel plays Doug Carlin, an AFT agent who sets out to find the terrorist behind the destruction of an ocean ferry full of military officers. The case starts to get interesting when Doug is sent to examine the body of a woman named Claire who appears to have been caught in the explosion, the only catch is her body washed up on shore hours before the explosion ever occurred!

It's Doug's theory that whoever was ever behind the attack on the ferry was behind the murder of this woman, and that her murder was carried out in such a way to make it appear she had been on the ferry. Doug decides the easiest way to find out who was behind the terrorist attack is to find out who killed this woman. His investigation into the last few days of this woman's life begins to unleash some confusing clues, and certain events lead him to join forces with the FBI and their new experimental task force to investigate Claire.

Things start to get interesting when Doug is introduced to the FBI's new discovery in the world of surveillance, watching a live feed of the past. Someone in the FBI stumbled upon a wormhole and was able focus it with the aid of satellites providing them with a 3-day window into the past. Now all they have to do is watch the last three days of Claire's life for clues that might lead them to the identity of the terrorist.

During its theatrical release, Deja Vu appeared to me to be quite a lame action film. But after renting it and giving the film a shot I quickly got sucked into the suspense and elusiveness of the film. While the plot of the film is obviously quite out there, if you’re able to suspend disbelief and not attempt to over analyze the validity of it all you'll find yourself enjoying a rather well written and acted action film. Denzel does a great job as always and Jim Caviezel was quite the menacing villain in this film. While Deja Vu may suffer in terms of re-watchabilty, it's a great film to check out once and you’re sure to get caught up in quite a mind bending adventure!

8/10