Déjà Vu

Old masters Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott created a hybrid of Van Damme’s Timecop and Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys. The great Denzel Washington heroically shoots his way through the film, which can boast precise filmmaking and a great number of screenwriting ideas, but unfortunately suffers from just as many lapses in logic, including the biggest one, connected to the excessively romantic (but emotionally pleasant) happy ending. Déjà Vu is a pleasant, relaxing film that you shouldn’t overthink. (18.06.2007)

Tony Scott abandoned his epileptic camera manias that bogged down the otherwise impeccable Domino and took on a script that may look original, but some of us have had the privilege before, including bending paper to explain a space-time jump (remember Event Horizon?). Some may legitimately find the whole plot terribly wacky, others may not like the incongruous combination of crime and sci-fi, but in any case Scott has made an easily digestible flick that is nice to watch, good for eating popcorn and out of your head before you can say "deja-vu". And it's a pity that, given the development of the plot, I had already figured out the only possible resolution half an hour before the end. (09.04.2007)

Déjà Vu was a very pleasant surprise. At first I was actually thrilled with the idea and the way it’s executed. By the middle, however, the script takes a turn to Hollywood mainstream, the logic gets lost and my enthusiasm waned. When it comes to time travel, it prefers a “whatever happened happened” approach to a “you can change everything” one, but I still think it’s a very well made film that’s worth watching. (29.08.2010)

I won't argue with anyone that the script is total phantasmagoria, but no one can tell me that Tony Scott has no competition in the field of "high-speed". Such visual lipstick, which he paints with cinematographer Paul Cameron, would be the envy of the entire cosmetics industry. The plot moves along briskly and, aware of its simplicity, at times goes so far that you wait for Denzel Washington to wink lasciviously not only at his colleagues but also at the viewer through the camera. The only problem may seem to be the ending, but the way the screenwriter duo navigates the trade-off between choosing between fate and pandering to an audience hungry for uniform outcomes is actually to be applauded. This is a twisted and funnier variation on Minority Report, which wins points over Spielberg for me. (26.01.2009)

Sure, Scott is able to make a modern sexy thriller and the camera and the directing roll this movie pretty much into the finale. Despite the fact that the theme includes a rather interesting idea of parallel worlds, its realization is very inconspicuous and predictable. More or less up to the point where the characters look through the time of the device and watch its shadows in the present, Deja Vu is a very energetic and electrifying thriller with an element of sci-fi, but the final leap through time is too cheap for me and much like a B-movie. It is useless to look for the type ethical depth that Minority Report offers, because there is no such thing in this film. It's simply dynamic action with a refreshing sci-fi motif, which hardly turns Deja Vu into anything more than just film that is better than average for its genre. That’s too bad. (25.02.2008)

The first two thirds of this picture are outstanding in all respects, but the nearer it draws toward the ending, the more Déjà Vu suffers from its miserable screenplay which tries to convince you that there is more to it than you think. The subject matter isn’t bad, has considerable potential, even working excellently for quite a while, but the ending trips the whole thing up. Even so, the initial idea could be the makings of a pretty good story perhaps for a series like CSI. What makes it even more of a shame is that otherwise this Tony Scott / Denzel Washington duo collaboration worked out well... Well, almost. This time Scott seems to have taken sedatives and although the directing doubtlessly does have his characteristic idiosyncrasies, compared to his recent movies, you can watch this without risking an epileptic fit. This walks in the footsteps of techno-thrillers such as Enemy of the State, but this has a taste of sci-fi in it and almost zero humor. It’s certainly worth watching, but it might be worth leaving the movie theater when the “operation is called off as successfully solved". That way Déjà Vu could aspire to achieving much higher quality levels and you wouldn’t be left with the feeling that somebody missed a big chance. (23.12.2006)

What is interesting about Déjà Vu is primarily how its screenplay provides the ideal framework for director Tony Scott’s stylistic development. After the extravagant Domino, in which the unreliable narrator gave space to spectacular formal flamboyance, Scott’s upcoming project gives the impression of being a sort of calming. However, by combining various cameras, materials, shooting speeds and post-production processes, the director found an ideal application for playing with the impression of the moment in Déjà Vu’s narrative, which in the essential middle part works with the possibility of looking into time running in the past while changing points of view. In its peak scenes, the film brings a wildly fragmented view of two different time planes running concurrently, but thanks to the visual stylisation, the viewer never gets lost even for a moment. Domino and Déjà Vu together represent the two highlights of Scott’s late-period filmography, where in the respective screenplays he had the ideal framework for his formal experiments – in one case, unbridled wildness in the interest of increasing the expressiveness and delirium of the narrative and, in the other case, the paradoxical use of those elements for maximum clarity and a credible display of the fantastical aspects of intersecting time planes. (17.11.2020)

I was beginning to worry that Tony would never shoot anything in “ordinary" style, but in Déja Vu we are back on the level of let’s say Enemy of the State. The screenplay manages to keep the viewer glued to the screen and even though it looks complicated, it is quite simple, fortunately lacking the nowadays-so-common glitches. Although Denzel Washington is playing the role of a cop again, I must say he is still fine here, just cool in different way. I must say the film has really good vibes and I would gladly watch it again sometime. Mainly the time travel chase in the souped up Humvee is a work of a genius :). (05.06.2007)

An incredibly gripping masterpiece in a stylish sci-fi guise that is not marred by the understandably convoluted plot involving time travel. Tony Scott has cut down with the epileptic editing, tamed the frantic camera, and now there is something to watch again. After the visually stunning but narratively unexciting Domino, the technical genius brings us a thrilling story that speaks much more to a wider audience. Even though it’s less action-packed, it’s far more thrilling and dynamic, and above all, there are a lot more emotions, like, simple looks into the eyes. There are a few flaws and the aforementioned narrative tricks and crutches, but they couldn't be avoided. Also, the motive of the killer is somehow bland and unsatisfying. But that does not change the fact that Scott is currently an absolute number one in terms of audiovisuals, and with a skillful screenwriter, it usually results in an interesting cinematic addition. (03.01.2008)

Despite the unpleasantly fairy-tale ending, the pros prevail. The ultra-sympathetic Denzel Washington, who thinks like all the CSI members put together, the delicious James Caviezel, the likeable and funny scientists... And above all, the unmistakable bombastic direction of Tony Scott. The scene in which a man driving in a car watches a car driving on the same road that he drove on four days earlier is top-notch. Not to mention the introduction. I'm rounding up three and a half for all the entertainment. (25.09.2012)

Déja Vu is exactly my favourite kind of action film. There's no thinking, not much talking, but a hell of a lot to look at. A well-developed plot, stylish action scenes and Denzel Washington, who has charisma to spare... What more could you ask for? (09.07.2012)

I’ll admit that based on the poster, I thought Deja Vu would be a film not far from others like Training Day or rather Man on Fire. I must say, however, that in the end, I have to lean towards the idea that Deja Vu is closer to Training Day. To be precise, it’s something in between the two. The first thing I must highlight is the sci-fi element, which I simply didn’t expect. I’m watching the film, and suddenly I’m thinking, what the hell are they talking about? This isn’t usually a classic element of action thrillers, but here we have something that we definitely have to call a sci-fi element, because the ability to view the past, literally projecting with the idea that we can insert something into the past, certainly is. Imagine you’re solving a case, a very serious one, as the film’s introduction presents in all its glory. But you don’t have enough evidence to determine what really happened. However, there is a very special method. Denzel Washington is set to become acquainted with this method, playing Doug Carlin, an agent in a counter-terrorism unit. Denzel is such an experienced actor who knows how to act that he simply fits into this film. Whether you have any racial prejudices or not, Denzel plays in such a way that his character is simply the good guy. Perhaps too much, even though he tries to be a bit tough here and there. Still, he doesn’t do anything that would pull him out of the "good guys" box. Some of the supporting characters are more interesting, particularly the team that Carlin works with. Val Kilmer hasn’t gained too much weight yet, and Adam Goldberg is just a quirky nice guy. The romance that appears, especially at the end, is as unnecessary as a sign that says "Christmas" over a decorated Christmas tree, but what do you expect? Tony Scott knew how to direct a pretty thrilling film that not only has a good idea but also a good pace and solid action. Jim Caviezel got the classic role of the villain, but someone had to do it. He’s not actually the focus of the film. (02.03.2013)

From the very beginning, Jerry Bruckheimer's handwriting is very identifiable – whether it's the colossally impressive camera filters, or Michael Bay-esque camera movements (the kind of cosmic/aerial ones that take in the characters from every possible angle), or the punchy piano tones in "escalated" situations, or the overall impression of pomposity. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, rather it's a kind of constant for which Jerry Bruckheimer's productions are fairly easily recognizable. You can't deny the technical precision, the brilliant editing, the awesome sound, and as I mentioned, the overall visuals are really polished to the last detail. Denzel Washington is great as always, Tony Scott adheres to his standard. It's far from being a classic, but shines as not completely stupid entertainment. (16.02.2013)