Plot: What’s it about?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Denzel Washington is one of my all-time favorite actors to watch on screen. He’s right up there with Robert Mitchum, Jimmy Stewart and Edward Norton. Granted, opinions vary but the two time Academy Award winner just has a way of playing it right. Regardless of the character he plays, he brings a life to the role even if it’s just sitting in a bed (“The Bone Collector”). And who, other than Anthony Hopkins, could win a Best Actor Oscar for playing a bad guy? Ok, Joe Pesci fits in that category as well (I do realize that Pesci won for Best Supporting Actor and not Best Actor). Regardless of the accolades he’s received, Washington continues to be one of the most consistent actors out there and I, for one, and very glad that he’s still taking edgy roles. This is the case with “Deja Vu” as Washington re-teams with director Tony Scott who he worked with in “Crimson Tide”. Maybe Denzel made this to make up for “Virtuosity” a decade ago? Who knows.
Washington plays Doug Carlin, a New Orleans ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) agent, who’s investigating a ferry explosion in the New Orleans harbor. The scene opens the movie and we don’t know why or how it’s done but it’s over before we can really get a handle on what’s going on. As the crews are trying to figure out how it happened, Carlin is recruited by an FBI agent (Val Kilmer) to a top secret mission. It seems that the government has the technology to spy on anyone anywhere in the world. The cameras can see through walls and anyting, down to the writing on a piece of paper, can be seen. The thing is, though, that it’s 4 days in the past. With this technology, it will be possible for Carlin and the FBI to possibly alter the fate of the ferry boat and save hundreds of lives. Carlin is also obsessed by a young woman (Paula Patton), who has perished in the ferry explosion. Can Carlin save the ferry from exploding or even with the benefit of knowing what will happen, are the all doomed?
“Deja Vu” is a different kind of movie. Sure it’s full of action, chase scenes and has all the elements that we’d expect from a Tony Scott movie. However, Denzel Washington brings a very human side to his role as Doug Carlin. I have no idea if this technology exists, but I have to say that if it doesn’t, it very well could in the future. I found this new approach to the classic “time travel” a fresh perspective and certainly a way to tell the story from a different point of view. I suppose the only thing I really had a problem with was the casting of Paula Patton. To me, she looks just like Rosario Dawson and the part would just scream out for Dawson in the role. I don’t know why, but there you have it. Val Kilmer is always good in his roles as well, though we don’t see enough of him. Regardless if you think you’ve seen something like this before, Scott manages to deliver another action-packed movie that I found most enjoyable.
Video: How does it look?
“Deja Vu” is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that looks fairly good. I will say that the movie is coming out in Blu-ray as well, so I’m excited to see how good the film looks in High Definition. That said, the transfer really isn’t too bad. There was a bit of edge enhancement, but nothing that really took away from the film. Scott uses a lot of fast cuts and “tricks” with the camera, so it’s often hard to tell what’s a result of the transfer and what the filmmaker put there on purpose. Colors were a bit off, but again it’s not a fault of the transfer. I found detail to be above average and contrast and black levels seemed right on target.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack certainly impressed. From the opening scene in which the boat explodes to a few car chase scenes, I was more than happy with the offering here. Again, the Blu-ray will most likely have an uncompressed soundtrack which will only heighten the audio experience. Dialogue is very warm with no distortion that I could notice. All of your speakers will get a workout with this disc in the player, that’s for sure. Ambient effects are abundant and sonics seemed right on the level. Suffice it to say that this delivers in the audio department.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There aren’t a whole lot of supplements to note, mainly just a slew of featurettes and some deleted and extended scenes. I did find the “Split-Time Car Chase” featurette to be fairly interesting and certainly worthy of a watch. Nothing else really stands out here, I’d have liked there to be a commentary track but no such luck.
