Deja Vu (2006)

After the success of 2004's MAN ON FIRE, director Tony Scott and Denzel Washington teamed up once again--this time alongside high-powered producer Jerry Bruckheimer--to deliver this big-budget spectacle of an action picture set in post-Katrina New Orleans. The city is delivered another crushing blow when a ferry explodes, killing over 500 innocent citizens. Only this time, nature wasn't the cause of the tragedy. Enter ATF officer Doug Carlin (Washington), who is recruited by a newly formed FBI unit (headed by Val Kilmer) to help track down the killer (a Timothy McVeigh-esque Jim Caviezel). When a body is found floating in the river, it is determined that the victim was murdered before the ferry blast occurred. Unfortunately, the victim was the impossibly beautiful Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton), whose death has begun to torment Carlin. Adding a new level to the investigation is a top-secret FBI invention, which allows a select group to view the past on screen as if it had been videotaped days earlier. The more Carlin sees of Kuchever, the more connected to her he becomes, until he decides to risk his life by traveling back in time and altering the course of history.

Plausibility isn't the number one reason to watch a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, and DÉJÀ VU is certainly no exception. This time around, however, Bruckheimer wisely recruited Scott and Washington to bring their expertise to the project. The result is another stylish and atmospheric drama/thriller/romance/action-adventure hybrid, which raises interesting questions as it entertains.