Issue date: 11/30/06 Section: The Scene

Media Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF TOUCHSTONE PICTURES Denzel Washington and Paula Patton star in Jerry Bruckheimer's latest thriller, Déjá Vu.

Déjà Vu may in fact do more for you by revisiting Denzel Washington's well-adjusted, well-meaning, and self-assured "good cop," than it will in bringing a clever explanation of the phenomenon to the screen.

Despite the fact that he's not stretching to play "Doug Carlin," Déjà Vu is a new twist on the old theme of time travel, albeit with a few plot holes.

It is less a film about explaining that eerie, discom-bobulating sensation that accom-panies the "I've been here be-fore" feeling, and more about how Denzel saves the day with his wit, strength, stamina and heart.

As a result, it is more the action/thriller than the sci-fi thriller it appears intent on being.

When a diehard patriot ("One man's terrorist is another man's patriot"), Caroll Oerstadt (Jim Caviezel), blows up a New Orleans ferry filled with sailors in an act of retribution for being rejected by the armed forces, ATF agent Doug Carlin pursues the case.

Shortly after the explosion, Carlin is called about the body of a woman who washed to shore with the markings suggestive of being a ferry victim.

However, the body of "Claire" (Paula Patton) was found an entire four minutes before the explosion even occurred.

When a special division of time traveling investigators requests Carlin to work with their unit (headed by a hefty Val Kilmer) to point out inconsistencies in footage from a program that records evidence from four and a half days prior, Carlin suggests that following the life of the dead woman will lead them to the mass murderer.

In absolute voyeuristic fashion, the crew begins to zero in on her through a televised version of her life.

After following Claire around her world and leading them to the killer, they realize the inevitable, and the moral of every time traveling movie ever made: you can't change the past…or can you?

Denzel is as always, strong and fatherly.

But, there is no real sense that he's falling in love with the woman who he must go back in time to rescue - as suggested by the film's Web site and previews.

His silent gazes don't quite translate into desire. He's driven and easy to sympathize with, when not overly emotive.

Continued...

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