Deja Vu (2006)

(In theaters, November 2006) The good news are that director Tony Scott has stepped back from the brink of madness: After Man On Fire and Domino, Deja Vu looks positively restrained even as it starts messing with the fabric of time and space. Denzel Washington is up to his usual screen presence in a role seemingly tailored for him. The technical savvy of Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer is on full display, with enough techno to please any geek in the audience, and that’s not even talking about the cool conceit at the heart of the story. The premise leads straight into, by a significant margin, the best car chase of the year, a masterful segment that positively shakes with energy. Alas, the film chokes upon its own high-concept, taking it a step too far and ending on a far more conventional note than you’d expect from the middle section of the film. The rules change arbitrarily, and the screenwriters go straight for the tragic conclusion that clears the way for a romantic finale. That the film is incoherent from premise to details is too bad, because its beginning is promising and it contains a number of neurone-sizzling moments. Fortunately, the problems can’t overwhelm the idea that this film is worth a look… and maybe even a second one.