Review of Déjà Vu (2006) by Jeff B — 07 Mar 2011

It's a crime-drama! It's a sci-fi tale! It's a love story! Déjà Vu is three, three, three films-in-one! How much would you pay for this slick extravaganza...$29.95? Well, seeing as this overstocking of genre types does not exactly work in the favor of a thriller whose premise alone is too convoluted, the audience may want to wait until Mr. Popeil relegates Déjà Vu to the discount bin. Though director Tony Scott and star Denzel Washington provide enough shiny things (guns and cars chases and fire--oh my!) to keep the masses temporarily satiated, the end result just makes you Deja woozy.

Please try to follow the synopsis to this PG-13-rated pseudo-thriller: After being called in to recover evidence from a catastrophic ferry explosion in New Orleans, an ATF agent (Washington) is introduced to a time-bending machine that allows authorities (Kilmer, et al) to view any location from all perspectives four days in the past, allowing him to follow the case of one particular victim (Paula Patton) who may lead to a terrorist.

Scott has led audiences down this road before with the Will Smith techno-thriller Enemy of the State. There is an ample amount of spit and polish to make the trappings oh-so-pretty. There is an awesome amount of acting chops to carry the hole-laden script. There is a double-helping of geeky babble to sell through a concept that the screenwriters themselves do not seem to follow. Plus, the movie goes there. Where's there? Well, the preposterously drawn-out ending involves Washington taking a quantum leap borne more out of wanting to get laid then solving a crime.

Bottom line: A quantum leap to the discount bin.