Fearless Writer ... Reviews

Stars: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken
Director: Tony Scott

The general public’s insatiable appetite for fast food cinema is just a fact of life these days, but sometimes you feel like waiting outside the doors of the newest no-brain blockbuster and urging them to eat a nutritious meal for once. Something like Man On Fire.

Featuring a mouth-watering cast, Man On Fire introduces us to John Creasy (Denzel Washington), a former special forces operative whose chief skill now is tipping a glass of Jack Daniels up to his lips. With his self-esteem in tatters he travels to Latin American and seeks the company of an old military friend, Rayburn (Walken), who urges him to take a job as a bodyguard. Kidnapping for ransom is seen as a profession in that part of the world, so rich families must protect their children at all times.

Creasy is hired by Samuel, a businessman with a wife, Lisa (Radha Mitchell), and pre-teen daughter Pita (Dakota Fanning). Initially Creasy is stand-offish towards Pita, using his job as an excuse to be aloof, but her precocious charm wears him down and they become friends.

Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, a group of gangsters make a kidnap attempt on Pita. Creasy guns several of them down and takes a few bullets, but the bad guys succeed. Later they make their ransom demands, which Samuel agrees to, but the exchange is ambushed and the kidnapping ringleader says he has no choice but to kill Pita.

Creasy survives his shooting and learns of Pita’s death. With the help of Rayburn, a journalist and her federal agent lover, Creasy begins a merciless war of vengeance against anyone involved in Pita’s kidnapping. As he works his way up the chain, the trail of profit leads to some highly unexpected places.

Even though it clocks in at more than two hours, Man On Fire is an efficient movie – nothing is wasted, nothing is superfluous. Director Tony Scott has even found a way to use subtitles as more than a mere translation device, the text also accenting the film’s drama and tension.

Washington is excellent as always (even if this isn’t his best performance) but the shining star here is Fanning. Precocious child characters almost always come across forced or false, but Fanning is eerily adult in her expressions and delivery of lines.

Man On Fire is a film anyone could be proud of. Equal parts action and drama, it’s also something every movie buff can and should appreciate.

VERDICT: 4.5/5

ON THE DVD

DISC QUALITY Flawless. Crystal clear visuals with no edge enhancement, audio that understands the dichotomy of the film’s subject matter.

COMMENTARY Director Tony Scott manages to hold your attention for most of the two-and-a-bit hours. There are plenty of technical details – film stock, use of different cameras and lighting – and also anecdotes galore, partly a consequence of shooting on location in volatile Mexico. Just what a film of this calibre deserved.

DELETED SCENES The first of these just had to go – it ruined the film’s impact or as Scott notes, “Gave up too much, too early.” Several of the others are worth watching, however, if only for more of Washington and Fanning’s masterful performances. Scott’s optional commentary is useful and intelligent.