Man On Fire (2004)
Man On Fire (2004)
If I actually did a list of 'best films' from 2004, this would be on it. Man on Fire was pretty much critically ignored... probably because your typical movie-going John Q. Public couldn't stomach unabashed violence and would rather be entertained by light-hearted dross like The Incredibles or Spider Man. BUT - I'm not going to turn this into a bashing session of overrated movies I dislike... (even though I'd get cheap thrills out of it.)
So yeah, Man on Fire. It's an absolute screamer in the field of hitman-like movies. Actually, Creasy (Denzel Washington) is an ex-CIA killer, washed out on a steady diet of booze and guilt. Either out of world-weary boredom or desperation he visits his friend Rayburn (Christopher Walken), a former colleague now living the good life in Mexico. You can get a great glimpse into the character of Creasy from one of the first lines he mutters, a question to Rayburn: "You think God will forgive us for what we've done?"
Encouraging his friend to stick around, Rayburn sets up Creasy with a bodyguard job, protecting a little girl, Pita (Dakota Fanning). Now... I'm no fan of child actors. In fact, I usually abhor them because most of the time a kid in a movie is nothing more than a director's lame tear jerker moment waiting to happen. Awww... how... DISGUSTING! Yet here, our little girl actress Dakota does a pretty decent job (even if she does have her own tear-jerking moment, it‘s more genuine). The child character is meant to be intelligent beyond her years, well-educated due to being raised in the upper class.
As weeks pass, the antisocial suicidal Creasy bonds with the little girl, who shows him that it's okay to live again. Believe it or not, this does not become pretentious in any way. In fact, it's rather charming to see the two of them spending time together. So charming that you almost forget you're watching an explosive action/thriller movie. Alas, this is but the calm before the storm...
The inevitable kidnapping occurs in a bloody shootout, and I'm not giving away anything by saying that the girl is killed afterwards when the exchange for money goes bad (this little plot nugget is given away in the plot outline, so don't nag me for a spoiler alert). This is when Creasy becomes the vengeful, unapologetic angel of fucking death, and I do mean... FUCKING death. Creasy vows to hunt down anyone and everyone involved with the girl's kidnapping... and kill them in a variety of absolutely brutal ways.
Pure revenge, plain and simple. Some have been disgusted by the violence because they believe it's violence just for the sake of it. It's not. That's Kill Bill. Some say that this movie is totally NOT 'PC'. Well, it's not 'PC' either. I believe the makers of this film were trying to show what a person can do when they snap, when they go over the edge. The man is so hell-bent on revenge, he'll do anything to get back at these assholes (including blowing up cars with rocket launchers, sticking mini C4 bombs up a guy's ass, mowing down random criminals with shotguns, and embarking on an absolutely gruesome torture sequence which rivals the carpet-beater scene Ian Fleming wrote in Casino Royale.)
Denzel Washington holds this movie up high on his shoulders. As usual, it's his magnificent performance that makes the movie work. One of the great actors of this era, the man could do a dramatic reading of some crappy webpage like Top Five Reviews and still keep me entertained.
Director Tony Scott gives the film a style that some might find jarring at times. Parts of the film, gunfights, flashbacks and dreams, etc, play out in a stop-start, swirling fast motion of different colours and images. Actually, it plays out a little bit like a Nine Inch Nails video, which is ironic considering that some songs from The Fragile are integral parts of the film's score. (I also noted a little piece from the Metal Gear Solid 2 video game used at one point, tisk tisk on you for recycling, Harry Gregson-Williams!) The score, like the style of direction takes you down into that dark, ominous world.
Minor grievances include - NOT ENOUGH WALKEN - oh, and uh... there's a couple of plot twists that are rather paint by numbers ("Oh, I didn't see THAT coming" note sarcasm), but if you've invested that amount of time in the movie you won't care. Yes, the movie is quite long for this genre (2 and 1/2 hours), so don't rent this as your date movie.
Overall, if you like movies like Dirty Harry taken to the next level, then you'll like Man on Fire. 8.5/10.