I put money that everyone could name a Ridley Scott film, but could you name a film by his brother Tony?

You would have seen most of his films but not paid any attention to the credits to see he directed them. This is the man who brought us the immortal Top Gun, brought life to Tarantino’s brilliant script of True Romance, the great spy thriller Spy Game with Mr. Redford and Mr. Pitt and his last masterpiece was the must see Man on Fire.

With Déjà vu Tony once again collaborates with the lead of Man on Fire, Denzel Washington. It’s Denzel’s job to take us through this thriller and unravel the events that cause the films incredible and unforgettable opening sequence. This isn’t your average thriller where we follow the cop down uneventful leads and dead ends and then acts of luck to discover the killer. This story written by Bill Marsilii and Terry Rossio adds a little sci-fi to the plot to give the film it’s unusual edge.

Washington plays ATF agent Doug Carlin, who’s job it is to find the films villain and bring him to justice for his evil acts. Doug quickly figures out that the murder of a young woman and the films opening act of terrorism are linked. By solving the girl’s murder and finding her killer he would catch the man responsible for the deaths of hundreds from the films explosive opening. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to notice Doug’s detective skills and recruit him to a special team appointed to catching the terrorist. This is where we enter the realm of sci-fi as this team led by Val Kilmer have the ability to see into the past. 4 days and 6 hours into the past to be exact, due to a freak accident while some young scientists were trying to create some new technology they created a wormhole in time to the past. They use Doug’s keen observational skills to look for clues in the past to catch the villain in the future. It isn’t long before Doug finds himself infatuated with the young woman he’s watching in the past. We now have Doug thinking he can use the technology to change the past. Not going to say anything more about the plot as I don’t want to spoil the film for anyone.

Like in Man on Fire, Denzel’s performance is outstanding and his job is to keep this film in fifth gear which he seems to mange without effort. The film is clever, well paced and at times action packed. Tony Scott clearly knows the formula to making a great film, Denzel not being the only person brought back from previous projects to make this film a success. Cinematography brought to us by Paul Cameron (Man on Fire) and a perfectly matching soundtrack from Harry Gregson-Williams (Domino and Man on Fire).

I really enjoyed this film, even though at times it’s a little predictable. Saying that I sure it’s one of those films that when you watch it again you’ll see things you didn’t see the first time. Tony Scott is most definitely a filmmaker who’s work should be sort out and watched and most definitely does not play second fiddle to his brother.

I was so blown away by the films opening sequence like the films title it is something I’ll be seeing in my mind over and over again.

by Jay