An ATF agent investigates a terror attack that killed more than 500 people and then joins an FBI team which has a access to a novel surveillance technology to help them find the culprit.
DEJA VU takes its title from a psychological phenomenon in which a person feels as though they had previously experienced a situation they are currently experiencing. Without spoiling the plot, let's just say that this movie takes the idea behind it in a literal direction.
There are a lot of really nice ideas for story elements, especially on the dramatic side. The writers clearly thought about how to make the proceedings interesting, and little touches which reveal attention to detail are everywhere.
I also enjoyed the philosophical questions this movie raises. For example, even if we could go into a past, could we actually change anything?
The direction by Tony Scott was essentially flawless, hitting all the right notes at various stages in the development of the plot and the actors did a good job. The special effects can hold their ground even today.
This movie could have been among the very best in its genre, but unfortunately, several large plot holes and gaps in logic bring it down. Not enough so that if you turn off your brain, you won't have an enjoyable movie experience, mind you. But in my case, doing this is difficult, especially if a movie raises philosophical questions.
That the movie has such glaring plot holes is all the more baffling and disappointing given that, as mentioned, the writers clearly paid a lot of attention to other aspects of the script.
Many of the plot holes relate to the central conceit of the movie which I cannot reveal without spoiling it, but there are some that are independent of it. For example, in one scene late in the movie, the protagonist is in a hurry to get somewhere, but right after he mentions how little time he has to get there, he decides to stop somewhere to basically freshen up.
Anyway, I am still rating this overall as a good movie because in all other aspects the movie is strong, and because I am an ideas guy (i.e. Someone who sees genuinely value in ideas just for their own sake, and feels profound satisfaction at being exposed to new ones) and that aspect of the movie appealed to me especially.
DEJA VU takes its title from a psychological phenomenon in which a person feels as though they had previously experienced a situation they are currently experiencing. Without spoiling the plot, let's just say that this movie takes the idea behind it in a literal direction.
There are a lot of really nice ideas for story elements, especially on the dramatic side. The writers clearly thought about how to make the proceedings interesting, and little touches which reveal attention to detail are everywhere.
I also enjoyed the philosophical questions this movie raises. For example, even if we could go into a past, could we actually change anything?
The direction by Tony Scott was essentially flawless, hitting all the right notes at various stages in the development of the plot and the actors did a good job. The special effects can hold their ground even today.
This movie could have been among the very best in its genre, but unfortunately, several large plot holes and gaps in logic bring it down. Not enough so that if you turn off your brain, you won't have an enjoyable movie experience, mind you. But in my case, doing this is difficult, especially if a movie raises philosophical questions.
That the movie has such glaring plot holes is all the more baffling and disappointing given that, as mentioned, the writers clearly paid a lot of attention to other aspects of the script.
Many of the plot holes relate to the central conceit of the movie which I cannot reveal without spoiling it, but there are some that are independent of it. For example, in one scene late in the movie, the protagonist is in a hurry to get somewhere, but right after he mentions how little time he has to get there, he decides to stop somewhere to basically freshen up.
Anyway, I am still rating this overall as a good movie because in all other aspects the movie is strong, and because I am an ideas guy (i.e. Someone who sees genuinely value in ideas just for their own sake, and feels profound satisfaction at being exposed to new ones) and that aspect of the movie appealed to me especially.