Deja Vu

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  • Deja Vu

    This movie proved two things:

    1) Tony Scott still can make a film that doesn't look like he was on acid the entire shoot and...

    2) BACK TO THE FUTURE will never be trumped as the best and most logical time travel film ever.

    It was interesting up until the third act when, man, it just all went to hell. Didn't make a lick of sense.

    Does anyone know what the original ending was? Terry Rossio was pretty public about his dissatisfaction with Scott making the finale more "action conventional."

  • #2
    Re: Deja Vu

    The movie was loud, illogical and incredibly dumb, but I did enjoy it up to the end.

    Even discounting the utter stupidity of the last part, I think the writer/director made a huge mistake by just getting rid the entire supporting cast back in the present.

    I thought that whole "Denzell and Crew" dynamic was what held the movie together, and once it was gone, Deja Vu just fizzled out.

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    • #3
      Re: Deja Vu

      I swear there was a post just like this a while back.

      Yes, that is the extent of my comic abilities today. Sorry.

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      • #4
        Re: Deja Vu

        I've got the script. It was fascinating to read it before seeing the film. I had my fears going in...

        The biggest gaff to me was trying to explain things. Terry's reasoning -- and I agree -- is that the mechanism isn't that important as long as you're consistent. A DeLorean isn't exactly credible, but if you just play it, the audience will go along. I mean, if the film is called Deja Vu, the audience must be willing to suspend their disbelief, right?

        I believe the Terry and Bill Marsilli were intrigued by the idea of falling in love with somebody who is already dead. That's a cool hook. Denzel gets involved with the girl at her autopsy! And it's not necropsy!

        But Scott seemed more enamored of the whizbang techno gadgets. The chase scene was all right but not that great.

        Also, the script was much more of a jigsaw puzzle... finding clues in the present that were left in the past by himself. The movie suggested it, but with nowhere near the subtlety. Tony didn't think the audience would get it.

        So to me it felt like a so-so actioner, where it could have been a touching romance with an action kick. Oh, well.

        5 mil must have softened the blow somewhat. Somewhat, I said...
        I'm like an opening band for the sun.
        -- Eddie Vedder: "Push Me / Pull Me"

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        • #5
          Re: Deja Vu

          I agree -- the movie was pretty good until the very end. It set up a time paradox that was just ignored.

          Spoiler....











          And what happens when they find Denzel's body in the car in the bay -- and show it to the new timeline's Denzel?

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          • #6
            Re: Deja Vu

            Does anyone know if the script is online yet? I really want to read Deja vu, preferably an early draft.
            /J

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            • #7
              Re: Deja Vu

              I just saw it and am glad I'm not the only one who's so confused by the ending.

              SPOILER/QUESTION: Based on everything set up to that point, wasn't that a huge hole that Denzel could still be alive in the past when the Denzel who went back in time was killed? On the other hand, what would have been a more credible ending where he still ended up with the girl? Or maybe he shouldn't have ended up with the girl. Any thoughts?

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              • #8
                Re: Deja Vu

                The script I thought was very good but also very "talky." It did raise some very interesting concepts.

                One convention I hate in movies of this ilk, and I think it started back with ENEMY OF THE STATE, is the wise-cracking techno nerd room. Why can't we have grizzled old scientists anymore?

                The one thing I liked about both the script and the film (which I actually enjoyed) is that they were hinting at the idea that Denzel had gone back to the past MULTIPLE times to try to "get it right." It looks like this time, he finally did -- and he would start a new "fork in the time river" when they pulled future Denzel out of the bay.

                The window into the past was cool but part of me wishes that was the device they used to solve the story, not time travel. I'd like to see a movie about time travel that doesn't involve anyone travelling through time.
                Reaction time is a factor, so please pay attention.

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                • #9
                  Re: Deja Vu

                  By the way, I have a copy of this script (the draft that sold) and will e-mail it to anyone who sends me a script I don't have. Just PM me.
                  Reaction time is a factor, so please pay attention.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Deja Vu

                    Originally posted by proof
                    Does anyone know if the script is online yet? I really want to read Deja vu, preferably an early draft.
                    I've got it if you still need it. PM me your email and you can have it, no trade needed.
                    "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis

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                    • #11
                      Re: Deja Vu

                      Originally posted by Han Shot First View Post
                      The window into the past was cool but part of me wishes that was the device they used to solve the story, not time travel.
                      I think that's what the original script was about, then Scott had the idea of sending Denzell physically back in time.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Deja Vu (SPOILERS)

                        Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
                        I just saw it and am glad I'm not the only one who's so confused by the ending.

                        SPOILER/QUESTION: Based on everything set up to that point, wasn't that a huge hole that Denzel could still be alive in the past when the Denzel who went back in time was killed? On the other hand, what would have been a more credible ending where he still ended up with the girl? Or maybe he shouldn't have ended up with the girl. Any thoughts?
                        Going by the movie only (I haven't read the script), here is my take: it would have only been a big deal if one of the Denzel's had NOT been killed ... then you would have two of them walking around. It was actually somewhat convenient (story-wise) that one of the Denzels died. And although the Denzel who lived didn't know about the time-travel stuff, there was an indication that the girl knew what happened (that line about "what if you knew something but couldn't tell someone"), so when the authorities discover the time-travel Denzel's body, then presumably the girl will explain it to the surviving Denzel (with a line like "forget it, Denzel, it's Chinatown").

                        Overall, definitely an above-average flick. Denzel was fantastic.

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