I call this a retro review as it was the first review I wrote when I launched my blog late last April, but it was before I became a contributor here. I have decided to unleash it upon an unsuspecting world. Judge for yourself if I've gotten any better, or whatever....
Enjoy!
Man on Fire (d. Tony Scott, s. Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken, Marc Anthony) ***
I went into this movie not quite sure what to expect, from the commercials it struck me as a formulaic action movie with shades of The Professional. What we get is a violent revenge movie with a surprisingly touching story at it's heart. The centerpiece of this movie is the wonderful relationship between Washington's Creasey and Fanning's Pita. We watch the character's grow and develop in a more natural way than you would normally get in an overblown action movie. It is not without it's pitfalls, but we'll get to that later.
The first half of the movie focuses on the relationship between Creasey and Pita. Creasey is a weary alcoholic that isn't up to performing a job as a bodyguard. Pita takes a quick liking to her new bodyguard, and he slowly opens up and seems to let go of what had brought him to that low point at the start of the movie. The second half is where the meat of the action takes place. After the kidnapping, we are treated to Creasey's single minded pursuit of every last person involved with the kidnapping, they will pay. Creasey uses various forms of torture to get what he wants. The action is spectacular from the staging of the kidnapping through to Creasey's assault on a nightclub.
I will say that what made this movie was the emotional connection that the viewer is able to make with Pita. Dakota Fanning is a great child actress, so long as you excuse the excrement she was in known as The Cat in the Hat. She delivers her lines with the confidence of a seasoned vet, yet is still able to convey the innocence of her age. She has a bright future as an actress. Denzel, on the other hand, is also very good. I must admit that I have never been the biggest fan of his, I feel he tends to overact a bit much, and that doesn't always fit the tone of the film. Here, though, it works. The movie is over the top to begin with so it really fits with the tone of the movie. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Christopher Walken, who I feel was a bit underused. He plays a friend of Creasey's but exists more as a means of exposition, the best of which is a speech given to one of the detectives, which you see a part of in the commercials.
Article comments
1 - JR
I wanted to know more about Creasey's past, I wanted to know about Pita's parents and why they would be targeted for kidnapping...
Actually, they hint that the lawyer (Mickey Rourke) somehow arranged the kidnapping to get some of the insurance money. Remember, the father is hard up for cash and he's not covering his bills. Early on, we see the father and the lawyer talking about hiring a cheap bodyguard for a couple weeks while the parents' kidnapping insurance is lapsed (everybody has kidnapping insurance in Mexico City because, as they point out at the very beginning, there's a kidnapping like every minute in Latin America). Their plan is then to find an excuse to fire the bodyguard once the insurance kicks in. The kidnapping would give them the excuse to fire Creasy if he even survives it. Of course, the lawyer then steals some of the money for himself.
Another thing that the movie hints at is that the parents are somewhat self-involved and they neglect their daughter. This is why she's so desperate to become friends with Creasy. I think the lack of parental attention also accounts for Pita's being a bit jaded for her age.
I too found the editing jarring, and I wanted not to like this movie; but it's got some depth and it's got some heart to it. I haven't seen many of his other movies, but after this I'd consider myself a fan of Denzil Washington. During this movie I kept thinking he'd be the guy to go to if anybody ever wanted to do a biography of John Coltrane (not that they should).
2 - Tristan
I loved this movie- and I had never been that big a fan of Denzel washington, thinking also that his acting was a bit over the top usually . Walken on the other hand has been a favorite and I've liked every movie I've ever seen him in.
I thought Washington's job here was beyond great and very low key for his usual mode.
The movie definitely was cast in that MTV-Miami Vice fashion with the brutal editing and music score but followed a pretty fluid progression throughout I thought.
Sad but great realistic ending. Would like to say the same about Marc Anthony's acting career---Yuccchhhh!
3 - boysaint
many people seem to have been turned off by Tony Scott's so-called MTV-Style editing. but it is actually what attracts me to all his movies. "Behind Enemy Lines", "Enemy of the State", "Spy Games".... are all fast paced and every frame there has its message and should be eaten fast like an ice cream in summer heat. very involving, in other words.
Tony Scott i have known as a very articulate director. i was particularly impressed this time by how he has shown a real care for detail as i saw the firing-pin mark by a Glock on a bullet's primer (Creasey's dud bullet, in the movie). that is a square firing-pin mark, and not the usual round mark made by any other handgun! and maybe only Glock handgun owners will notice that. very careful detail indeed.