Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images and some sensuality
Directed by Tony Scott (Man on Fire & Enemy of the State)
Starring Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Paula Patton and Jim Caviezel
Déjà Vu is a fun and exciting movie that is definitely worth checking out.
A ferry that is filled with service men and women reunited with their families explodes in New Orleans at the beginning of Mardi Gras and over 500 people are killed. ATF agent Doug Carlin, (Denzel Washington) is brought in to investigate the terrorist attack. Impressed with Carlin’s skills, FBI Agent Andrew Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer) invites him to join a new team that uses satellite technology to look backwards in time, 4 1/2 days to be exact. Using this new technology, the team must save Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton) and stop the terrorist (Jim Cavaziel) before he blows up the ferry that has already exploded 4 days ago. Got it???
Déjà Vu is a slightly new take on the classic time travel movie. It's not the smartest movie I have ever seen, in fact it's often predictable and at times even cheesy (when you see the final scene you will know exactly what I mean). All that being said, I was sucked in from the opening sequence to the ending credits.
The cast is great. Denzel is Denzel and delivers another great performance. Val Kilmer and Adam Goldberg are perfect together as the FBI’s odd couple and Jim Cavaziel as a bad guy…he’s just scary good.
I was slightly frustrated by the lack of a good explanation concerning the technology and how it worked. It’s not that I need to believe it can work (or even understand it for that matter, i.e. Back to the Future’s DeLorean and the 1.21 jigawatts of electricity) but I like to know that they have thought it through. Even though I was frustrated a little by that, I quickly realized I was enjoying the movie way too much to let that ruin it for me.
Finally, I have to say I loved that they kept the relationship between Carlin and Kuchever out of the bedroom. We have addressed this issue in several reviews and although there were opportunities, the film-makers decided not to go that route.
I’d watch it again, not because they got me or because I need to go back and figure stuff out…but just because it was a fun ride.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There are several “peeping tom” kind of scenes where you see Paula Patton in various stages of undress and one quick flash of nudity in a shower scene, as well as violent and disturbing images that give it a true PG-13 rating, so younger kids should not see it.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
