In remembrance of Tony Scott, I finally watched these two action films, which both star Denzel Washington. Find out who wins after the cut. (SPOILERS)
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| Deja Vu |
Deja Vu has a 55% rating on RottenTomatoes and a Metacritic score of 59. It received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Science Fiction Film. Man on Fire has a 39% rating on RottenTomatoes and a Metacritic score of 41. It received a Critics Choice nomination for Best Young Actress.
Winner: Deja Vu
The setup.
In Man on Fire, an ex-assassin must avenge the death of the girl he was assigned to protect. In Deja Vu, an ATF agent must solve (and prevent) a terrorist bombing on a crowded ferry.
Winner: Deja Vu
The setup.
In Man on Fire, an ex-assassin must avenge the death of the girl he was assigned to protect. In Deja Vu, an ATF agent must solve (and prevent) a terrorist bombing on a crowded ferry.
Winner: Deja Vu
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| Man on Fire |
The execution.
Both have all of the bells and whistles. Deja Vu has time-jumping and plenty of explosions. Man on Fire has payback and multiple deaths in the process of vengeance.
Winner: Deja Vu
The ending.
In Man on Fire, the hero dies to save the little girl, but they are both finally at peace. She's free to live, and he's free to let go. In Deja Vu, the present hero dies in the past, leaving his old self to deal with the cleanup of the averted disaster.
Winner: Man on Fire
The wild card.
Deja Vu has Jim Caviezel and Pam from "The Cosby Show". Man on Fire has Christopher Walken. 'Nuff said.
Winner: Man on Fire
Both have all of the bells and whistles. Deja Vu has time-jumping and plenty of explosions. Man on Fire has payback and multiple deaths in the process of vengeance.
Winner: Deja Vu
The ending.
In Man on Fire, the hero dies to save the little girl, but they are both finally at peace. She's free to live, and he's free to let go. In Deja Vu, the present hero dies in the past, leaving his old self to deal with the cleanup of the averted disaster.
Winner: Man on Fire
The wild card.
Deja Vu has Jim Caviezel and Pam from "The Cosby Show". Man on Fire has Christopher Walken. 'Nuff said.
Winner: Man on Fire
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| Deja Vu |
Ratings, by the way: Deja Vu - ***1/2, Man on Fire - ***
(Deja Vu Spoilers)
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen Man on Fire, but I would give it a win solely based on the time travel plot holes of Deja Vu. It didn't make any SENSE. In the beginning/original timeline, he finds his own bloody bandages that wouldn't have been at the dead woman's house, since he didn't save her/wouldn't have been there! And for some reason she's wearing the dress she put on AFTER he SAVED her when he went back in time!
That could've been a really interesting concept if they had given it a little more thought and cleaned up the inconsistencies.
On the bandages, I think they can get away with that because you could argue that he had been there in the past from the future, so it made sense. It repeated the cycle, if you get what I mean.
DeleteThe dress thing bothered me too, but other than that, I really enjoyed the film.
Yeah, I'm with Tippy...I kind of HATED Deja Vu. I actually LOVED Man on Fire and consider it an undervalued gem of an action film...and like, Fanning's performance is aces as is Washington's.
ReplyDeleteI agree on Washington's and Fanning's performances, and I realize I'm in the minority on Deja Vu. :)
DeleteI haven't seen either of these, though my hubby has talked about Man on Fire. I'll skip Deja Vu based on the plot holes. I love stories with time travel, but the inconsistencies would really bug me.
ReplyDeleteOther than the dress example that Tippi mentioned, I didn't notice any plot holes. I'd call that more of a quip than a plot hole though. Granted, I could've missed something. :)
DeleteGreat post! Deja Vu was the movie I didn't like but Washington always gives good performances so it wasn't a complete distaster for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I loved his performance in both films. He's always fun to watch because he's so charismatic on screen.
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