Déjà Vu (2006)

Featured Audience Ratings

• moon r

  
  The Tony Scott/Denzel Washington team serve up a fast breaking time travel/love story about federal agents trying to stop a terrorist bombing in post Katrina New Orleans. Strains credulity, but hey, its a decent movie.

• Alexander D

  
  Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is his name, and he works as an ATF agent in New Orleans. His current assignment is to catch a terrorist who bombed a ferry within the first five minutes of the film (thank God I didn't skip through the opening credits--that might've been the… More
  Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is his name, and he works as an ATF agent in New Orleans. His current assignment is to catch a terrorist who bombed a ferry within the first five minutes of the film (thank God I didn't skip through the opening credits--that might've been the only attention-grabbing scene in the entire film). He is told about a superb technology that, Doug realizes, can do more than solve the crime: it will allow him to travel back in time to prevent the crime from happening. With such incredible technology as one of the main plot subjects, one would think this film would be fairly short. This runs for a whole two hours, and with all the extraneous scenes it contains, it feels like even longer. In fact, this film makes the average crime mystery TV show, seem like a short video one would find on YouTube. After seeing Denzel Washington and Tony Scott collaborate in UNSTOPPABLE, a slightly more recent film, I couldn't wait to see this film. Scott put the same amount of adrenaline into the production, but he couldn't fit it with the plot. For example: there was great, pulse-pounding music, but rather than being placed in the appropriate scenes, it's placed in scenes depicting Washington's character listening to his voicemail. How many double-takes this film drew from me, I could not count, but the ending drew the most, for sure. Although this film was not interesting, the central concept was. The title may lead you to believe that this film is about time travel, and that's part of it. The technology used to solve crime does many things, such as the basic time travel, as well as the ability to spy on people, pause, rotate the view, and much more. Truly, this is what any FBI agent would want to use to solve a crime, and I applaud the filmmakers for putting their own technology to a purposeful use. If you look at DEJA VU for looks and nothing else, it's amazing. Looking at it from a normal film-watching perspective, this isn't very enjoyable, and it's overly complex. Actually, maybe "complex" isn't the correct word. What I mean to say is that not much is explained at all. Just the slightest explanation fit into the two hours would have brought this from utter disappointment to solidity. Full Review: http://wp.me/p1Urcx-xA

• Albert K

  
  Innovative action with a plotline that doesn't know how to explain itself. Denzel's great as usual.

• Ken S

  
  A fun action sci-fi piece with an really interesting idea at the middle. It doesn't come off as well as it could. It's no Man on Fire, but as far as Denzel, Tony Scott pairings go this one is pretty good.

• Brad W

  
  Deja Vu has one of the coolest concepts ever and executes it really nicely. The story never dies down to be an incredible action thriller with a great storyline of time travel and if the idea of changing the past to save the future, it seems done before but they do it so well.… More
  Deja Vu has one of the coolest concepts ever and executes it really nicely. The story never dies down to be an incredible action thriller with a great storyline of time travel and if the idea of changing the past to save the future, it seems done before but they do it so well. Denzel Washington was great in this, and to be honest I do not recall a performance where he was bad, and the rest of the cast did good (but not memorable) performances. The music of the film also have it that extra bump for a great action film. Deja Vu is a film that you will not soon forget, its cool, fun, and although its a bit boring at many times for a action film, this movieis still great and I recommend it to all movie lovers.

• Jason R

  
  Another Denzel flick, another one of my favorites. Love the vistas of New Orleans, love the fact that Val Kilmer still gets work, and Paula Patton... game over. Also, one of the best car chases ever -- one in the present, one eye in the past. Yes, it's a time travel movie, so… More
  Another Denzel flick, another one of my favorites. Love the vistas of New Orleans, love the fact that Val Kilmer still gets work, and Paula Patton... game over. Also, one of the best car chases ever -- one in the present, one eye in the past. Yes, it's a time travel movie, so it's full of plot holes, but just enjoy the ride.

• Sophie B

  
  Brilliant core idea and a good cast however I felt like part of the movie went way too fast. There are a lot of errors such as if sending one small note caused the city to lose power, surely sending a whole man would do much worse. His body probably wouldn't even survive etc etc.… More
  Brilliant core idea and a good cast however I felt like part of the movie went way too fast. There are a lot of errors such as if sending one small note caused the city to lose power, surely sending a whole man would do much worse. His body probably wouldn't even survive etc etc. In the first explosion the bomb goes off pretty quickly whereas in the alternate world it takes a while. The science is out of it but it's interesting and somewhat unpredictable.

• Alice S

  
  Film critic, David Thomson, describes <i>Deja Vu</i> as "inane yet compelling." I would have to agree. The time travelly stuff expects itself to be taken seriously (unlike the general levity of <i>Back to the Future II</i>); it involves too much… More
  Film critic, David Thomson, describes <i>Deja Vu</i> as "inane yet compelling." I would have to agree. The time travelly stuff expects itself to be taken seriously (unlike the general levity of <i>Back to the Future II</i>); it involves too much disbelief-suspending technology (unlike the natural phenomenon in <i>Frequency</i>); it pervades throughout the movie (unlike the few climactic moments in <i>Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</i>); it doesn't involve Keanu Reeves (unlike <i>The Lake House</i>). Oh wait, that's a good thing. The movie is definitely fun to watch, especially during the stylish real time/past time highway chase. Denzel Washington plays Denzel Washington - charismatic yet slightly rogue officer of the law. The bright lights are Paula Patton and Jim Caviezel aka Jesus Christ. Patton is beautiful, and she manages to be beautiful even when she's scared shitless, rashly daring, and rightfully paranoid. Caviezel, in a tiny villain role, freezes the screen with one, penetrating stare. The hint of arrogance in his voice cements the conviction of his wayward patriot.

• Richard C

  
  B

• Conner R

  
  Way too typical of a movie for Tony Scott. Sure, his style works good here, but I'd rather see it put to better use. The fact is, it's just a dull thriller that doesn't even have Deja Vu in it. Highly predictable, you can essentially figure out the ending from watching… More
  Way too typical of a movie for Tony Scott. Sure, his style works good here, but I'd rather see it put to better use. The fact is, it's just a dull thriller that doesn't even have Deja Vu in it. Highly predictable, you can essentially figure out the ending from watching the trailer. Sure the performances are decent, but nothing special and no standout characters.

• xGary X

  
  Denzel plays his usual mild mannered but earnest supercop investigating a terrorist attack on a ferry who becomes part of a government team who can look through a window onto 4 days in the past. In other words, Minority Report for the past instead of the future. It's one of those… More
  Denzel plays his usual mild mannered but earnest supercop investigating a terrorist attack on a ferry who becomes part of a government team who can look through a window onto 4 days in the past. In other words, Minority Report for the past instead of the future. It's one of those films that has that kind of mind bending time paradox plot that tends to be quite entertaining if you like trying to figure out if the script writer actually thought the idea through properly, using the prerequisite science mumbo jumbo to try and explain it all, but of course it's all nonsense so you have to either accept it or not. James Caviezel makes decent baddie and is at home in time travelling wish fulfilment territory starring as he did in Frequency a few years earlier and it's pretty much the usual slick Hollywood blockbuster you'd expect (although I was quite grateful for the fact that Tony Scott dials down his trademark cine-wanking to the point where it's almost bearable). It takes itself rather more seriously than Nic Cage vehicle Next but is otherwise very similar; in fact it leaves you with exactly the same Chinese food feeling that makes it reasonably enjoyable while it's on but afterwards you don't really feel like you've witnessed anything of consequence.

• Dead A

  
  This was okay.

• Al S

  
  A smart, crafty, brilliant and tremendously spectacular action-packed thriller. Rip-soaringly exciting and truly breathtaking. Stylish, taunt, intelligent and wildly unpredictable. An awesome, wickedly fun, dazzlingly original and utterly pulse-pounding full-throttle mystery. An… More
  A smart, crafty, brilliant and tremendously spectacular action-packed thriller. Rip-soaringly exciting and truly breathtaking. Stylish, taunt, intelligent and wildly unpredictable. An awesome, wickedly fun, dazzlingly original and utterly pulse-pounding full-throttle mystery. An extraordinary and unforgettable genre bender. Loaded with explosive non-stop action and scorching suspense. It's a gripping, sizzling, mind-blowing and adrenaline-pumping edge of your seat thrill-machine that wont quit for a single second. It plays with your mind and grabs your attention like you wouldn't believe. You wont know what hit you. Director, Tony Scott's coolest and most well-crafted action film in year's. A great all-star cast. Denzel Washington is brilliant. James Caviezel is fantastic. Val Kilmer is terrific. An amazing, satisfying and incredible movie. Flat-out exhilarating. Scott and Washington have yet again brought pure action movie magic to the screen once again.

• Film C

  
  i really like this movie! its brilliant stylish and an excellent thriller that really left me impressed as its different to many films. This intense thriller keeps you on the edge of your seats and keeps you glued to the telly with its awesome storyline, acting and explosive scenes… More
  i really like this movie! its brilliant stylish and an excellent thriller that really left me impressed as its different to many films. This intense thriller keeps you on the edge of your seats and keeps you glued to the telly with its awesome storyline, acting and explosive scenes it also shows you some awesome technology that our society can only dream off! Washington plays a cop whose investigating the terrist attack on a ferry but when a girl is found that looks as if she was put there seperate from the ferry bombing he tries to find her murderer but along the line he discovers something amazing and could be the very same thing to save a lot of lives including the womans?!!! Awesome thrilling movie really worth a watch!

• Anthony L

  
  This is a silly film that makes no sense what so ever but is easy to watch.

• Jennifer D

  
  Nice flashy effects. Interesting plot idea, but reminded me a lot of Minority Report and I thought it could have been better executed. I love Denzel and he was fabulous as always and he might of been the best part. Except for Adam Goldberg. I do love me some Adam Goldberg. But the… More
  Nice flashy effects. Interesting plot idea, but reminded me a lot of Minority Report and I thought it could have been better executed. I love Denzel and he was fabulous as always and he might of been the best part. Except for Adam Goldberg. I do love me some Adam Goldberg. But the best part was the flashy cutesy effects.

• Lanning :

  
  Aside from a rapid and hardly satisfying ending, and a little too much hocus-pocus hand-waving when it comes to explaining the ability to travel through time, this is not a bad way to spend an evening. Denzel Washington is his usual solid self, but I'm afraid the trickiness of… More
  Aside from a rapid and hardly satisfying ending, and a little too much hocus-pocus hand-waving when it comes to explaining the ability to travel through time, this is not a bad way to spend an evening. Denzel Washington is his usual solid self, but I'm afraid the trickiness of the script kind of chokes the life out of the actors. Still, I'm always up for stories about time travel, so this is a solid three stars for me.

• Thomas B

  
  an interesting exploration of the usefulness of time travel, though a little too rushed.

• E.J. B

  
  This movie does feel like deja vu because it tries to abandon its really cool concept in favour of a by-the-numbers chase movie.

• Jens S

  
  What starts with a bang, as a ferry with 550 people on board gets blown up, turns into a regular investigation thriller for the first thirty minutes. Then a very interesting premise is added, even though it's pure sci-fi: what if you could watch the past like a surveillance cam?… More
  What starts with a bang, as a ferry with 550 people on board gets blown up, turns into a regular investigation thriller for the first thirty minutes. Then a very interesting premise is added, even though it's pure sci-fi: what if you could watch the past like a surveillance cam? What if you could even interfere? The movie doesn't get much deeper into the moral dilemma, not to mention the logic flaws that these kinda films always come with, just like this one too. But the ride is extremely entertaining and exciting, despite of all the logic holes. Actually the kind of exciting that makes you cramp your stomach a little. Really well done. Not deep but a great piece of thriller entertainment.

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