Deja Vu

Plot synopsis:
In Algiers, New Orleans, an explosion of a ferry transporting sailors from the USS Nimitz and their families on a Mardi Gras excursion causes 543 casualties. Lonely ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is assigned to investigate the terrorist attack.He is informed by Sheriff Reed (John McConnell) about the corpse of a woman, Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton), that washed up on shore. Her body was found one hour before the explosion, but burnt with the same explosive. The agents believe that her death was meant to look like part of the explosion, but the body arrived too soon. Doug also learns that his partner, Agent Larry Minuti (Matt Craven), was evidently killed in the bombing.Doug is invited by FBI Agent Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer) to join an experimental surveillance team led by Jack McCready (Bruce Greenwood). The team shows him moving images of the ferry boarding, from any and every angle. He watches the hundreds of people moving around, and after a few minutes starts firing questions at the team about a technology that can provide this type of live surveillance from four days ago (4 days, 6 hours, 3 minutes, 45 seconds). They explain that it is via a system of satellites, and that it takes four days to assemble the information so that it can be viewed just one time. He asks pointedly how satellites are providing audio, and the team looks startled but provides an explanation.Doug directs them to focus on the mysterious dead woman, Claire Kuchever, and follow her last days since it is likely she was murdered by the bomber. As they observe her, she obviously has the sensation that she is being watched, calling out, "who's there?" and looking around. She even writes about it in her diary, which Doug holds and reads four days later, after it was collected as evidence from her apartment. She receives a call from the terrorist, asking about purchasing her car. However, she will be busy when he wants to meet, so they do not make a deal. As the surveillance continues, Doug watches her getting dressed, and later reading to her niece, he suddenly raises a laser pointer and directs it at the viewing screen. It shows on the wall behind her, and she sees it and reacts to it. Meanwhile, the viewing room system goes down completely, with several people shouting, "who breached the field?!"Doug angrily confronts them for lying about the system. He knows that the images are not from the dead past because Claire reacted to the laser light. He demands an explanation. The scientists try to tell him about an Einstein-Rosen bridge, or spacefolding technology, but the advanced physics jargon just infuriates Doug. Dr. Denny (Adam Goldberg) tries to make it simpler, showing a piece of paper and then folding it to bring two points together. This is still not what Doug wants to know. He smashes a nearby monitor and demands, "is she alive or is she dead?" The group gives both answers - she is alive in the past and yet dead in the present.He wants to prevent her murder, and the ferry explosion, but the team explains to him that it cannot be done. Nothing can be sent back - gerbils, all sorts of experimental animals have arrived dead. Attempting to "breach the field" causes failures of the local power grid. A major blackout of most of the central US, that was blamed on Canada, was actually the fault of operator Gunnars (Elden Henson). However, they eventually agree to try to send a small piece of paper back in time to warn Carlin himself, as an anonymous tip, where the terrorist will be waiting to arrange his car deal. The scientists chatter about different time paradox theories. Operator Shanti (Erika Alexander) draws a diagram showing a "branching" theory - a new timeline is created with the new event (the appearance of the paper), and the old timeline ceases to exist. However, Dr. Denny insists it won't change anything. Shanti likens it to throwing a pebble into water, causing ripples ... but Dr. Denny says the flow of time is more like the Mississippi. Any change will simply heal itself, in the long run.They prepare the message and send it back. Unfortunately, their timing is off. Before the message appears, Doug (in the past) finishes an argument with his partner Larry and walks out of his office. Afterward, Larry spots the paper on Carlin's desk and leaves to follow the tip which places the bomber at the ferry dock. The team cringes as they realize they have sent Larry to his death. They focus now on the dock, hoping to get a good picture of the terrorist so that they can find him. His picture is put into a computer to compare it with mug shots, looking for a match.Larry meets the terrorist and a brief fight ensues. Unconscious, Larry is dragged into the terrorist's vehicle, and he drives away. As they follow him, the viewing team exclaims that he is leaving their viewing area and will soon be out of reach. Doug fires up the HumVee that contains the mobile viewing rig, giving chase in the present so that the past in that area can be seen. After an accident, the rig is damaged so that Doug cannot see the past through it, but the base team can. They shout instructions directing him. He follows the trail to a burned-out fishing camp on the bayou. There is an ambulance crashed into the remains of the main building, but in the past, the terrorist has taken Larry out back. Pryzwarra gulps that the terrorist is pouring "accelerant" (fuel) on Larry's body. In the present, Carlin can see a burned outline of a body on the pavement. He tells them to brace themselves because they are about witness a murder. Horribly, Larry begins to awaken. The terrorist sees this, and quickly shoots Larry before setting his body on fire.The team isn't sure what else there is to do. Doug points out that the terrorist still needs a vehicle for his bombing, because there are bulletholes in the one he'd planned to use. That means the terrorist will need Claire's car. Doug continues to examine the site. Inside the building, he finds another burned body outline. In a crack, he finds a black earring which he recognizes as Claire's. He kisses it and pockets it.The computer search comes up with a match on the terrorist's picture - Carroll Oerstadt (Jim Caviezel). He is connected to the fish camp. He is hunted down, captured and brought in for questioning. Discussing his past with Doug, it seems the military rejected him twice, finding him mentally unstable. Oerstadt babbles about destiny, patriotism and collateral damage.McCready advises the team that they are shutting down, having caught the perpetrator. There is no point in further pursuing Claire's murder and the explosion. Doug is frustrated - for once he would like to do more than catch the bad guy afterwards - he'd like to stop the bad guy before it happens. He stops at Claire's house and sees the magnets on the refrigerator spell out, "u can save her".Dr. Denny agrees to help Doug attempt to travel into the past. Doug strips down to his undershirt and boxers and climbs into the small transport area, hugging his knees. Denny reminds Doug that his heart will be stopped by the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) of the system - if he is not revived, he will simply die. He arrives four days in the past, on an empty gurney in a hospital operating room. Seeing his jolting body, doctors rush to treat him. When they cut away his shirt, they read the words "Revive Me" written on his skin. He awakens later in a hospital room, steals some clothes, and grabs a bouquet of flowers to carry for camouflage. Outside the hospital, he steals an ambulance and drives out to the fish camp, where Claire is tied up with a bag over her head. Trying to fight her captor, Oerstadt, she rakes his face with her nails. Furious, Oerstadt douses her with gasoline. Doug crashes the ambulance directly into the building where they are. Oerstadt shoots Doug in the shoulder but then flees.Doug takes Claire home to clean up. He looks around her apartment, seeing all of the details that he has seen through the viewer and also from the investigation after her death. He shifts the refrigerator magnets to spell "u can save her". While he is cleaning up, she comes out wearing the red and white dress in which she died. He tells her to change, stating that is what "the victim" wore. He reaches into a wardrobe for clothing - and she pulls a gun on him, stating that he cannot be what he claims, pointing out his familiarity with her house and the fact that he has asked her no questions. She calls the ATF and they confirm his existence and appearance, but she demands to know more. He says, "What if you had to tell someone the most important thing in the world, but you knew they'd never believe you?" She says, "I'd try." After explaining, she helps bandage his shoulder.They go to the ferry, where he will defuse the bomb and Claire is supposed to tell the guards what is happening. Unfortunately, when Oerstadt leaves the ferry and sees Claire's truck, he knows he has a problem, so he returns to the ferry. Claire sees this and jumps aboard also, just as the ship leaves the dock. Doug returns to the bomb-laden vehicle to find Claire in it, handcuffed to the steering wheel, with her mouth taped shut. Doug stuns Oerstadt into a standoff by throwing his own words (from the interrogation) at him: destiny, patriotism and collateral damage. Rather than surrendering, Doug jumps into the car with Claire and gets her to ram Oerstadt where he stands in front of another car.However, the car is still wired to explode, and there is no time to defuse it nor explain all of this to the guards. Doug directs her to drive the vehicle off the ferry and into the water. As they submerge, he kicks out the windshield and jerks the steering wheel out of the column so that she can swim free to the surface. Unfortunately, the ferry continues overhead, rolling the vehicle over and crushing the frame so that Doug cannot escape. Claire makes it to the surface, gasping, and is pulled out of the water. The car is completely filled with water, and Doug hammers futilely on the side window, holding his breath. The ferry safely passes. The vehicle explodes underwater, sending a fireball of debris up in the air. Now ashore and wrapped in a blanket, Claire cries over Doug's death.The officials ask Claire if she would talk to an agent from the ATF. She turns ... and sees Doug (from the present) walking up to her. She stammers in shock, and he asks if they have met. As they get into his car to leave, she repeats his words from earlier in the film, "What if you had to tell someone the most important thing in the world, but you knew they'd never believe you?" And he unwittingly echoes her earlier response, "I'd try."

Tags: romantic, murder, flashback

Review:
So here we have a present day crime thriller crossed with sci-fi time travel...And, this movie kicks butt, works so well, in fact, it's nuances should be studied in film school.
I would go so far as to say the plot was far-fetched, but the heart of the story just takes you along for the ride.For the record, I felt Scott's most recent teaming with Denzel, Man on Fire, was one of the best movies of 2004.
I don't think Deja Vu is as good as Man on Fire, but it's right up there as one of the most entertaining and thrilling movies I've seen this year.For sheer entertainment and an intriguing (though not flawless) plot, Bruckheimer, Scott and Co. sure have DELIVERED the goods.I recommend you see Deja Vu on the big screen with a big, loud audience for maximum enjoyment.
If you can get past the middle 20 minutes or so while they explain what the team can do, you're in for a great ride.I can't, in three paragraphs, paint a picture like Deja Vu. Of the many films Mr.Washington has put out over the last 4 years or so, this is by far his best if not one of the best of the year.Highly recommended for the open-minded..
The plot has this good twist in it, which makes the movie interesting and there is overall pretty much the right amount of sci-fi and thriller blended together.What to expect from a movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer?
Deja Vu is a high-action, crime-drama, sci-fi, thriller which is exactly what you would expect from Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of such action-adventures as "Con Air," "Enemy of the State," "National Treasure," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and another Denzel Washington favorite, "Remember the Titans." The story opens with an explosion on board a New Orleans Ferry, and takes the audience back through an unfolding of events that leads up to the tragic scene.
Don't get me wrong, I like being lied to for entertainment's sake, but way too many trivial things didn't add up.The acting, while backed by names like Denzel and Val, was not anywhere near what the standard of a "good movie".
The only thing the movie had going for it, was the very good job Tony Scott did with the action scenes.
Tony Scott's new movie starts with a hectic mix of shots of people having a good time but the discordant editing or whatever made me say to myself, "Any minute now, there will be an explosion or a similar disaster." I waited another full minute of meaningless collage.
Doug, being the sad, sensitive type, has fallen in love with the dead woman and offers to be flung back in time to save her  just so he can prevent the devastation of course.About this time you will be getting Déjà yoohoos along the lines of, "I think I've seen this before  was it in Terminator II or The Prestige?" At least by this point the explosions-per-minute ratio has ratcheted up a bit, so you may grudgingly feel you're getting your money's worth.
But when you realise the two best scenes were in the trailer, it's easier to accept you've been had and just spend the rest of the movie waiting for them to appear.On the plus side, the action does eventually kick in, making it at least better than a bad episode of CSI, and a car chase conducted simultaneously in two time frames stretches the brain momentarily.
I was touched by the fact that it was made in post-Katrina New Orleans, although they probably needed the tax breaks just to break even.Déjà vu is neither pleasantly mind-numbing entertainment nor intellectually stimulating sci-fi, but is a tolerable action movie with a sweet enough twist.
In the final analysis, this is a time travel action flick, with a few good lines of dialog, and a heroine with nice breasts.The plot has enough holes to drive several Hummers thru sideways.There is no depth whatsoever to any of the characters here.Tell me how Denzel Washington plays "chicken" on a suspension bridge, without killing anyone or himself, and without getting nailed by the police?
I kept hoping something better was coming around the bend, but it just kept spiraling down into tinseltown pyrotechnics.In fact, there was a movie just like this about 10 years ago, same plot, same ending, same bogus science, and it was just as disappointing..
Deja Vu is the most tasteless action thriller ever made to me which is surprising because the director is Tony Scott who I enjoyed almost all of his films that I have seen so far.
The movie begins as a generic cop film, with Denzel Washington playing the archetypal genius officer who is under-appreciated for his perceptive talents.
Watching this movie you think that the writers just thought "Ah, what the hell, doesn't matter, the audience won't notice that!" You feel like someone is trying to robb you with this cheap plot.
Many will just enjoy the pure fast-moving entertainment value of the movie - Denzel Washington puts in another stellar performance, and is supported by an excellent cast.
The action scenes were intense and very realistic, similar to Tony Scott's other movie Man On Fire, which I thought was pretty good too.
Th rest of the actors do as well as Denzel with their screen time.All in all i can say it has been a long time since i watched a movie that good and it was made years ago!.
I mean, please, I don't want 100% realism, but you have to keep things consistent WITHIN THE FILM.That stuff would be forgivable if the story was good, but ridiculous plot devices push the story to a sappy end and that effectively destroys the interesting premise.
The late Tony Scott and Denzel Washington collaborated on five films, the second last of which is underrated sci fi thriller Deja Vu. It contains Scott's trademark visual style, all skitchy sketchy frames, deliriously rapid editing and deep, gorgeously saturated colours that pisses a lot of people off in its garish, flippant aesthetic.
The film tackles a lot in its unassuming narrative, from terrorist bombing, an elliptical story that's put in an otherworldly trance by a plot point involving a high tech time travel capability, and a surprisingly heartfelt undercurrant that somewhat sneaks up on you.
Because Deja Vu is my favorite movie of all time, I figured it was only right for me to submit my own review for it.If you have never seen this movie, I think it is very important that you know as little about the plot as possible going in.
All you need to know is that it's an action thriller starring one of the best actors of all time, Denzel Washington.
If you are fortunate enough to only know this seeing Deja Vu for the first time, it will change your rating from a 7 or 8 to a definite 10, I promise you!That being said, even if you take away the initial suspense, this movie is so perfectly crafted that you will definitely want to own it so you can watch it over and over again.
I like the movie pretty much right up to the end.Without giving things away the fresh, concept appeared to go out the window and the same predictable Hollywood formula reared it's ugly head.I'd recommend that you see this and my guess is you will enjoy it.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the gimmick of going back and forth in time, inevitably the writers are confronted with something called "logic." That "logic" is missing in droves in this movie and suspension of disbelief is more than an unusual occurrence.Also, I think it is time that Denzel Washington stops playing cops, whether they belong to the federal branch or not.His acting has become predictable and worse, boring.
He is a good actor whose talents are going to waste.Every character in this movie is predictable and never hint to any kind of originality.To make the movie even more unpalatable, Val Kilmer, who is in his own right an extremely talented actor with a powerful range, is totally wasted in this film.He could have e-mailed his lines.Also, I don't know whether he gained weight for the role, but his leading man good looks were left at home and in their place was a pudgy, overweight mug of someone who does not care what he looks like.
I can't believe that an actor as good as Denzel Washington accepted to play in that kind of movie.
"Deja Vu" is an intelligent and sophisticated thrilled from master craftsman Tony Scott, and sublime actor Denzel Washington, that delivers on all counts: plot, acting, script, cinematography, score, action, tension and coolness factor.
This pays off in dividends, as it ranks as one of the most well thought out and believable time travel films ever made.More poignant than "Domino", with little to no "cheese factor", it feels like, "Deja Vu", is the film Scott's been attempting to make for the last half-decade since "Spy Games" in 2001.
Working with a challenging script by Bill Marsilii and Terry Rossio that asks the viewer to accept the possibility of time travel, Scott is able to make the story work clearly despite the interplay of mixing the viewing of the past form the vantage of the present with placing a character into that past to alter it.The setting is New Orleans, still suffering from the devastation of Katrina, where a ferryboat explodes killing hundreds of people.
How this occurs forms the climax of the film, and while many viewers may have trouble swallowing the time travel aspect, the action is so tight and the technique of creating the incident so convincing that few viewers will fail to be wholly involved.The cast is excellent, beginning with Denzel Washington as a terrific lead to the work of Jim Caviezel and all the more minor roles in between.
If this girl was not attractive i doubt Denzel would have gone to such great lengths to save this girl.Please don't waste your time watching this movie.
Unfortunately, this does not work, and they push on to the last resort, sending a human back into the past, denzel washington.This was a good film, its all summed up and comes together in the end.
Tony Scott films are really amazing pieces of art!, since Top Gun, The Last Boy Scout (with Willis), Crimson Tide (with Denzel), The Fan (with De Niro), Enemy of the State (incredible movie with Smith),Spy Game (with Redford and Pitt) to Man on Fire (the best of all!).
With this movie, the third of his saga starred with Denzel, i can say that Scott is definitely an auteur, a director with a special talent and with his signature on his great quality films.
ABOUT THE MOVIE: This is the story of agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) who was assigned to the investigation of a Ferry bombing in New Orleans where 563 people died; in this investigation he finds a woman corpse, this woman called Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton), will surely give a lot of clues to find the responsible for this terrorist attack, when she was actually found dead and burned in the river before the explosion had even occurred.
There are good action scenes  especially the car chase of terrorist through time difference  where with one eye Denzel is able to see the present day and the other eye he is able to see the same road 4 days back  this chase is thrilling.Especially at the end of the movie, the way Denzel is shown traveling from one place to another within the city  seems that the city is very small  which is not the case of New Orleans as a city.
Watched as a mindless action flick this film isn't half bad - the plot is believable enough to pack the elements that keep the story rolling and the play-out is good enough to make it more than just acceptable.
The recycling of plots and inability to find something new for Denzel Washington to do is the most appropriate use of the title Deja Vu, because it really doesn't have much to do with the plot.The film is actually more of a time travel movie, in which Denzel Washington and company are able to look through a window in time back 4 and a 1/2 days and try to travel back in order to prevent a massive explosion.
Deja Vu is a good movie with a mind-bending twist, good action scenes, and a plot that is hardly understandable unless you have the scientific mind like me.
This film also boasts a good director-actor pairup in Tony Scott and Denzel Washington.
This movie can be confusing at times because it is one that will make you think and the plot has many scientific terms especially regarding time travel.Tony Scott's film is about a ATF officer who is taken off a site of a ferry explosion to an area where he is told about some new machine that can take people back in the past to see if they can find any information about the crime.This is the second pairup between Tony and Denzel with the first being the 2004's Man on Fire, which is better than this film.
Ho.The only thing that made audiences shy away was a confusing plot device - that many critics couldn't seem to look past - it is taut, well acted and cracks along for 2 hours, and once you've finished it the first time there is definite merit in watching it again once the pieces all fall into place for you.Denzel isn't a supercop, just a regular cop named Doug from the Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) section, which may or way not involve checking kids for fake IDs, I'm not sure.The opening scene gives him reason for involvement by showing the explosion of a big New Orleans Ferry carrying hundreds, perhaps thousands of oblivious passengers, many of them members of the US navy.
I really enjoyed the first ¾ of this film and had already jotted the grade down as a very solid 7.5, but the movie comes home strong, and the final 20 minutes earned it another .5 for sheer audacity.Déjà Vu features a solid believable performance from Denzel despite the leaps of logic that are required, but if you can move past these and watch the movie as a movie, and not a thesis about the merits and capabilities of time travel, you will see that all the events that seemed extraneous in the first half now make perfect sense.In one 6 or 7 minute scene the entire film comes together for the viewer and for Doug's character, and I actually got chills when the pieces all fell into place for me.Final Rating – 8 / 10.
As it is with every time travel film there are plot holes, but it's always neat to see how the writers tackle such a heated topic and Deja Vu tries to attach an action thriller into the mix.Tony Scott has a certain style to him now, anyone whose seen Man On Fire or Domino knows this, here it isn't as blatant, but it's till there.
Washington is the only one who really gets to have fun and do stuff.As a time travel film, it's okay, as an action thriller, it's alright.
Watching her shower in the past...yup.This is not a film to rush out and see, unless your a big time fan of Washington or Scott.
The movie is basically about a terrorist setting off a bomb on a New Orleans ferry and a detective from the ATF, played by Denzel Washington, trying to figure out who did it and why.
!. Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott ( both collaborators on the hits, "Man on Fire" and "Crimson Tide" ) team up for the third time on this brilliant film that mixes philosophy, dram and action along with brain-twisting physics.
Action wise "Deja Vu" is an average thriller but Tony Scott's energy along with Denzel Washington's excellent performance turn it into something more.
Although Tony Scott's Deja Vu will never be accused of being awful, it's too dumb--on a logical level--to be taken seriously.Yet.This homegrown-terrorist-blows-up-500+-people-and-it's-up-to-Denzel- to-use-time-bending-to-save-the-day-suspenser is so entertaining that, ya just can't get angry with it, right down to the part where somebody shows up at the end of the flick you thought should be dead.I'm not hitting that spoiler alert, period!Time travel movies are, by and large, incoherent and illogical.
Im sorry to say that such a great actor as Denzel wasted his time on such a movie.
Denzel Washington has given his best performances since Man on Fire.The movie starts out like it is going to be a Lincolyn Rhyme police procedural.
Actors don't actually try to convince you of the flatness of the earth.) That is the problem with Deja Vu. The script is just way too hard to swallow.Otherwise, the movie has all the goods for a great action packed ride.
Cool action scenes, especially when the present and the past is mixed in some of them, along with good acting by Washington and Kilmer is two of the movies strong points.
This is the best movie I've seen in a long while, and has a great plot which (upon first viewing at least) seems to have no holes like many time travel flicks do.
and that's where Denzel comes in, going back in time when the movie actually is over, to try and save the woman he fell in love with - 4 days and 6 hours in the past.
A New Orleans ATF agent (Denzel Washington) tries to literally go back four days in time to save a beautiful woman (Paula Patton) and over 500 others who died due to a terrorist bombing in "Deja Vu", an unintentionally stupid and wasteful action thriller from director Tony Scott.