Deja Vu and Inception: Just Beyond the Possible

by Pa Rock
Film Critic


I thought that the movie, Inception, which came out earlier this year, really pushed the envelope as far weaving the real world together with the unimagined powers of the mind.  It was edgy and deep, and the brilliant writing took movie goers to places they had never been before.  I felt that Inception was a truly original concept - a tour de force of dreams impacting reality and visa versa.

Last night I came across 2006's Deja Vu staring Denzel Washington, and now realize that this earlier effort took a very similar idea and managed to turn it into a gripping tale, one that in many ways overshadowed Leonardo DiCaprio's later film.  Instead of manipulating dreams (or being manipulated by them), Deja Vu looked at impacting recent history through brief, and surprisingly believable, forays into the past.

Both movies were mindbenders in the best sense of the word.  They took ideas that were "out there" and worked them into believable stories.  The acting in both was superb - Leonardo DiCaprio and Denzel Washington are both at the top of their craft.  But it was the original story ideas and subsequent writing that made this pair of films so outstanding.

Anyone who doubts the power of the pen, or in modern terms the word processor, has to look no further than Deja Vu and Inception.  They are deep and thought-provoking movies that challenge viewers to become involved in the stories and to think.  They are not for the lame and lazy who want nothing more than to be entertained.

Deja Vu and Inception are highly recommended for a Friday night double-feature!