What makes a time travel movie successful isn't answering the question of whether or not the concept is possible, but how well the movie convinces you that it is at least plausible. If you think about ANY time travel movie too much you'll find more story holes than a brick of swiss cheese, so the real trick is to not make the audience think too much. As such, the time travel concept offered in "Deja Vu" is kind of muddy, but works just long enough that we buy into it while we're watching, mainly thanks to director Tony Scott's usual bag of techno-tricks, and another commanding performance by Denzel Washington (who has probably saved more potentially bad movies than any actor alive).

Washington plays Doug Carlin, an New Orleans ATF agent investigating the terrorist bombing of a ferry during Mardis Gras which resulted in the deaths of over 500 people. Key to the investigation is the dead body of Claire (Paula Patton), who at first looks to be one of the ferry victims, but is later determined to have died hours before. Through further investigation, Claire's death becomes the key to discovering who is behind the bombing. Later, Carlin is (fairly suddenly) working alongside of a group of government scientists who've discovered a technology allowing them to witness events from up to four days ago, and allows them to follow anyone they want from that time. So they spend days watching Claire's every move in the days before her death, hoping to find a link to the killer. When Carlin discovers that the technology not only allows them to watch the past, but to affect it, he and his colleagues try to send a written warning into the past about the upcoming attack. Though it helps them find and catch the killer, it doesn't prevent the tragedy. That's when Carlin insists on being sent back himself to alter the outcome, even though nothing living has ever survived previous attempts at time travel. "Deja Vu" isn't without its narrative & logistical problems. After one scientist is initially most-opposed to sending a human being back in time (Adam Goldberg), he's suddenly now the one guy most willing to make it happen. As far as the concept itself goes, we are only barely convinced by the science presented to us, and if we think about it too long, the whole story is rendered a bit ridiculous. But while we're watching, "Deja Vu" is a fast moving, complex & entertaining thriller, though it wastes a lot of talented actors in thankless roles (such as Val Kilmer, Adam Goldberg & Jim Caviezel). The story itself does a lot make us forget the muddy science, but it's mostly because of Denzel Washington that we overlook such trivialities. At this point in his career, all he really has to do is show up and be himself (there isn't much to differentiate his character in this film from the stoic heroes he's played in countless others). But he's compelling in the lead role, and director Tony Scott's penchant for cinematic bombast (which is sometimes a monumental distraction) actually serves this story pretty well (even during the ridiculous slow-motion scene where Denzel answers a phone).

Presented in 16 x 9 enhanced widescreen, the movie looks great, with no notable blemishes. Colors are suitably rendered and black tones are accurate. As with most Tony Scott movies, "Deja Vu" is big & loud, but the overall balance is good, and the film, rendered in 5.1 Dolby Digital & 2.0 Surround, is given a good DVD transfer.

No commentary is offered with this disc, but the 37 minute behind-the-scenes feature (individually chaptered), "The Surveillance Window," offers a lot of technical details about the creation of various scenes. Also included are 8 minutes of deleted scenes and 5 minutes of extended scenes.

"Deja Vu" isn't one of those movies that sticks with the viewer very long, which is probably a good thing, since its science & logic are shaky at best. But while we're watching, it offers a compelling, complex & fast-moving story, some cinematic fireworks and another reliable performance by Denzel Washington. Recommended. Similar Movies: "Frequency"; "12 Monkeys" Useless Trivia: During production, filming of this movie was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina. This film marks Washington's third collaboration with Tony Scott, the first two being "Crimson Tide" & "Man on Fire."