The Denzel Washington Sci-Fi Action Thriller You Can Stream Right Now Deserves Way More Fans
It might sound hard to believe that an actor as well-known as Denzel Washington could have some hidden gems. He is still in huge movies to this day, with his latest being a part in Gladiator II releasing later this year. But he does still have some projects that flew under the radar, like Denzel Washington’s lead role in the 2006 crime thriller, Deja Vu.
The Set Up
If you feel like you have seen all the variants on the crime genre and that this movie won’t hold anything new for you, you might be in for a few surprises. Rather than being another movie about the mafia or urban crime, this is actually partially a sci-fi movie.
Denzel Washington’s character, Special Agent Douglas Carlin, has to stop a crime that has already been committed by going back in time, hence the movie’s title of Deva Vu.
The movie kicks things off right at where would be the climax for many other movies. Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton), has seemingly triggers an explosion on a ship carrying over 500 people for a Mardi Gras celebration.
It has resulted in mass deaths with nothing to be done to salvage the situation. The terrorist who organized the plot, Carroll Oerstadt (Jim Caviezel) triumphs, and Denzel Washington’s character has failed at the start of Deva Vu.
Time Travel
But if that were truly the ending, the movie would only be ten minutes long. Obviously the bad guy cannot win that easily.
Agent Carlin discovers that Claire’s involvement in the incident was just a coverup for Oerstadt, but that information is useless at this stage—until his agency reveals they have created the technology to go back in time. Denzel Washington’s character uses this time rift to try and prevent the terrorist attack from ever happening, giving Deva Vu its unique premise.
Mixed Critical Reception
While the movie received middling reviews from critics, reviewers did appreciate how unique the plot was. And of course Denzel Washington is as charismatic on screen for Deva Vu as always. It would be hard to get a bad performance out of the actor who won Best Actor from the Academy Awards for the classic Training Day.
Devu Vu did get some award recognition itself, with it being nominated for awards such as Best Science Fiction Film from the Saturn Award, and Film Composer of the Year from the World Soundtrack Academy Awards.
Denzel Washington
We will no doubt continue to get many more incredible performances from Denzel before his career is over. Gladiator II alone sounds poised to be one of the year’s biggest movies. But an actor as talented as Denzel Washington does have a few performances that might slip people’s notice, so Deva Vu is worth checking out if you originally missed it.
Stream It Now
If you are looking to revisit 2006 era Denzel Washington, fortunately you can still catch Deva Vu through a number of streaming platforms. It is currently available to rent or buy through services such as YouTube, Amazon, and Google Play. Check out this underrated crime move from Denzel’s filmography today and see what you have been missing all these years.
