Entertainment with a little thought

Rating: 7/10 (24 July 2007)

Déjà vu" first got my attention by the trailer. It had everything a trailer should have  a cool, recognizable lead; some sort of gimmick; great music; a little taste of the story, yet not too much so that you can't figure it out; and some glimpses of great action sequences. "Déjà vu" stars Denzel Washington as an ATF agent, Doug Carlin, who is called to a crime scene where a ferry has just been blown up, most likely due to foul play. Doug seems vaguely familiar with the place, a recurring theme in the movie, hence the title. A body of one of the burned victims turns up, yet not only does Doug sense something familiar about her, the body had been washed up before the bombing.
Doug then goes to her apartment, and then things start getting weird. I'll let you discover the weird elements and clues yourself. Just know that the subsequent scenes involve time travel, a crazy ex-Army guy, a car chase where one car is 4 1/2 days ahead of the other one, and a lame ending, that, when you put everything together, makes little logical sense.
While I was not thrilled with all the plot holes, everything else is very well done  the car chase I previously mentioned is actually pretty tense and actually believable. Denzel Washington gives another very good performance and director Tony Scott knows how to manage his stylistic camera moves and action scenes.
If you're looking for a fun movie that challenges you just a little bit, here it is. It is tense, exciting, action-packed, and somewhat clever  although the script is not as clever as it wants to be, it still delivers most of what the awesome trailer promises.