Tony Scott is the prototypical MTV-generation director.

His films fly by at a maddening pace and tend to work best to the attention spans of people whose favorite drink is a triple-shot espresso with a dash of cocaine and Ritalin. His camera is always moving, cutting from close-ups to long shots, extreme close-ups to long establishing shots — all in a matter of seconds. It can be invigorating at times, but often ends up nauseating.

“Deja Vu” is just like Scott’s “Enemy of the State,” “Man on Fire,” and “Domino.” There is a good chance moviegoers will leave the theater with a headache.

At the same time however, it is probably his most intelligent and thought-provoking work since “Crimson Tide.”

The film opens with an incredible and realistic explosion of a New Orleans ferry.

Scott milks this fantastic scene, which he shoots from several different angles, for about the first 15 minutes, before introducing Denzel Washington as Doug Carlin, an ATF agent asked to investigate the suspected terrorist act.

While authorities fish bodies out of the water, the mutilated and badly burned corpse of a young woman is found farther down the bay.

She is considered one of the explosion victims, until an autopsy reveals she was actually killed prior to the blast. This proves to Carlin someone knew about the bomb, murdered this woman, then attempted to pass her off as one of the bomb victims.

He is approached by FBI agent Andrew Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer) and selected for an elite unit to find the culprits.

It soon becomes clear this unit is no ordinary crime-fighting group. They have been given clearance by the government to use a new technology that actually looks into the past by folding two points of time together.

Sure, it doesn’t really make any sense, but the film explains it well enough.

By using an array of satellite images, they can actually watch what happened in any place in the four days in the past, which creates a warping deja vu feeling. Suspension of disbelief is a necessity.

By looking into the past — and eventually going back in time, Carlin will attempt solve the crime before it occurs.

The whole idea is pretty wacky, but watching it is mind-blowing and thought-provoking, long after leaving the theater.