You may not have seen this one before

By Lucian Tucker
Collegian Editor
December 6, 2006

What is this feeling? Did I write this article in the past? Have I seen this movie before? Déjà vu?

Déjà Vu is a sci-fi/action movie with a surprising storyline. Looking at the title and teaser trailer, the average moviegoer would think it’s about a man who starts to have random cases of déjà vu that help him prevent some huge event from happening. That’s not quite right though.

Starring Denzel Washington and Paula Patton, Déjà Vu tells the story of Doug Carlin (Washington), an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agent who finds himself in the middle of a crime investigation that involves a group of happy sailors, a cruise boat, a bomb and a burnt female body with chopped fingers.

As I watched the spirited sailors board the cruise boat in the opening scene, I knew they would be blown to bits. The director focuses heavily on the soon-to-be-dead sailors to get viewers emotionally attached to them. His tactics worked and kept me drawn to the movie for all 128 minutes.

Carlin later arrives at the crime scene, knowing exactly where to look for clues and evidence. His investigative skills impress a group of FBI agents who are also on the case, and they decide to let him in on a little secret: they have a machine that allows them to see four days into the past. Not quite déjà vu.

The rest of the story hurt my brain, and if I were to continue any further, I would spoil the movie. So rather than go on explaining the mind-injuring storyline, I will move on to the acting.

When it comes to acting, Washington is among the most talented and respected. As such, he does not disappoint in Déjà Vu, and neither do most of the supporting actors. I say most because some of the supporting actors became annoying after several minutes of hearing them talk. Playing one-dimensional characters, and delivering line after line of technical babble, it was only a matter of time before I grew tired of the supporting actors’ voices and unsurprising reactions.

I did, however, like Paula Patton, who played Claire, a beautiful woman with a charming smile. It is in her house that a decent portion of the movie takes place. As Carlin watches Claire’s life from the FBI’s four-days-ago-viewing machine, he becomes more and more attached to this woman he’s never met, and so did I. Patton captivates the screen.

Déjà Vu made me laugh, grieve and think. When the credits rolled, and my headache faded away, I got that strange urge I don’t get too often to watch the movie again. Given all of this, the movie is a success. I recommend any Washington, action, or sci-fi fan grab a bottle of Tylenol, a bag of popcorn and a pack of tissues, just in case, and go see this movie.

tuckerl1@lasalle.edu