Off a busy dock in New Orleans a ferry blows up in spectacular fashion. Flaming cars and bodies fly across the screen in slow motion. It's gratuitous, almost bombastic, but then again this is a Jerry Bruckheimer–produced, Tony Scott–directed (the two have paired up six times) picture, where excess and swagger are the modus operandi. Denzel Washington lends an air of dignity as ATF agent Doug Carlin, on the scene as 543 casualties are tallied. Suspecting terror, the FBI rolls in with a super-new contraption that allows it to rewind history — kind of. In terms of time warping, it’s more Terminator than Groundhog Day, with Paula Patton as the wholesome beauty Carlin must save to thwart that bigger catastrophe. Little about post-Katrina New Orleans, post-9/11 terror, or the space-time continuum is explored. With Bruckheimer, all things must kick into high gear. And they do. If you’ve seen any of the producer’s other bang-bangers — take The Rock or Enemy of the State — you’ll feel you’ve seen this one before.

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