Déjà Vu is a great action thriller with a genuinely high concept premise. If this was made now it'd be a streaming film with no style, designed to be as generic as humanly possible. It makes every detail of this version so much more entertaining, like how the film really takes its time with an extended opening credits sequence that streamers would never let exist now for fear of the audience losing interest.
All that really matters with this concept is that the twists work in the moment and it achieves this in a constantly engaging manner. It doesn't matter if they fall apart under intense scrutiny and to be honest, the part of this narrative that's the hardest aspect to buy into is the romance. Even then though, the shades of Vertigo make it work better than it should.
A film like this needs a movie star to lead it and Denzel Washington is the perfect actor to do it. He's the coolest character in any scene, immensely believable with his character's expertise and yet he's still the best one to experience this slightly futuristic world through. The little things are just as eye-catching with his performance, all the way down to the way he holds a gun.
The supporting cast really understand how to play it when it comes to how serious to take this. There's no doubt that the premise requires some suspension of disbelief so having the mildest bit of humour courtesy of Adam Goldberg whilst Val Kilmer, Elden Henson, and Erika Alexander all playing it completely straight creates the ideal tonal balance.
A significant portion of this film has people staring at screens and watching so Tony Scott directing on maximalist mode ensures everything remains highly cinematic. He had a unique talent for this kind of filmmaking and the car chase that simultaneously takes place in past and present not only showcases his greatest strengths but guarantees the film doesn't squander the premise on that scene alone.
All that really matters with this concept is that the twists work in the moment and it achieves this in a constantly engaging manner. It doesn't matter if they fall apart under intense scrutiny and to be honest, the part of this narrative that's the hardest aspect to buy into is the romance. Even then though, the shades of Vertigo make it work better than it should.
A film like this needs a movie star to lead it and Denzel Washington is the perfect actor to do it. He's the coolest character in any scene, immensely believable with his character's expertise and yet he's still the best one to experience this slightly futuristic world through. The little things are just as eye-catching with his performance, all the way down to the way he holds a gun.
The supporting cast really understand how to play it when it comes to how serious to take this. There's no doubt that the premise requires some suspension of disbelief so having the mildest bit of humour courtesy of Adam Goldberg whilst Val Kilmer, Elden Henson, and Erika Alexander all playing it completely straight creates the ideal tonal balance.
A significant portion of this film has people staring at screens and watching so Tony Scott directing on maximalist mode ensures everything remains highly cinematic. He had a unique talent for this kind of filmmaking and the car chase that simultaneously takes place in past and present not only showcases his greatest strengths but guarantees the film doesn't squander the premise on that scene alone.