Déjà Vu All Over Again
Decent Cast Wasted In Poorly Written Thriller

Denzel Washington stares the situation down, his eyes fierce and intense. The girl on his elbow gasps and pulls herself closer to him. Suddenly, an explosion shakes the screen and a four-car pile-up is flying towards the face of the audience.

Are you getting that feeling?

You should be; this is every other scene of Deja Vu, Tony Scott’s latest thriller.

“I can’t believe I couldn’t get a new inspection sticker just because of a little crack in my windshield...” Denzel Washington stars in the new thriller Deja Vu.

Deja Vu takes place in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. On Mardi Gras, a ferry, full of US Navy and their family, explodes and kills everyone on board. Doug Carlin (Washington) is a federal agent who has come to investigate the explosion, as well as solve the mystery of a dead woman who washed up on shore 10 minutes before the explosion even happened. Doug is recruited by a special task force with “unique time constraints” and finds himself immersed in a secret government project that has found a way to control space and time to see four days into the past. The dead woman, Claire Kuchaver (Paula Patton), is found to be the key to the terrorist act and Doug finds himself in love with her as he attempts to stop the ferry explosion 4 days after it has happened.

While this idea sounds intriguing, the plot contradicts itself into nonsense, acting skills are wasted with poor writing, and, let’s face it, thinking about the government with the ability to control time frightens me.

Denzel Washington has acting skill but, in a script that calls for little dialogue and makes an explosion subtle nuance, he has no opportunities to demonstrate it. Each scene, his emotions are demoted to “intense,” “charming,” and, on occasion, “intensely charming.” Not only is the script an insult to Washington’s skill as an actor, but also to his skill as a driver; every time he got behind the wheel, crashes and pile-ups ensued. Even chasing a car that wasn’t there, he came face to face with an eighteen-wheeler.

Paula Patton is a good damsel in distress, but the film didn’t expand on her character further than that. Around Claire’s apartment, you see paintings, magnet poetry, and a bird cage; plenty of evidence to prove that she is an interesting character, yet the story does not include any information about her besides she’s (possibly) dead and has a tan Ford Bronco.

The worst performance of the film was James Caviezel, the terrorist. His “cool, collected” was more like “I’m not sure what’s going on, I guess I should do this.” While being interrogated, his claims of patriotism are not backed up with any emotion or passion, mooting his point as a fanatic, yet, his motives are clear enough to strike the possibility of him being a sociopath. The writing in Deja Vu was based on confusing theories of time travel, so perhaps we cannot blame Caviezel for being a bit overwhelmed. As with Paula Patton’s character, he is underdeveloped and caricatured.

The real terrorists in Deja Vu were the writers; the script was mostly suspenseful music coupled with confused looks.

From beginning to end, Deja Vu holds the audience captivated; not with gripping intensity, but with striking indignation. The plot holes create such a sense of frustration that it is nearly impossible to enjoy the film. When Doug suggests sending a clue back in time to reveal the terrorist’s identity, he is immediately shut down and given a long speech from his scientist colleagues on the impossibility of changing the past. However, when the situation arises, the plan goes through with nary a hitch and none of the scientists have an inkling of an explanation.

Deja Vu was far too padded to be a success as a psychological thriller; even the space-time continuum bends to make Doug’s investigation more convenient. It seemed like the director didn’t want to force the audience to think, which is the point of such a complicated movie.

At the finish, Deja Vu was confusing and had lots of unnecessary explosions. Tony Scott could have saved it, maybe, with a better script and some logic, but don’t hold it against him; he’s suffering from an ailment of the mind very similar to deja vu: amnesia. He seems to forget that he used to direct good movies.

Deja Vu is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images and some sensuality.