Man on Fire [DVD] [2004] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Washington plays Creasy, a former C.I.A. assassin who drinks because he cannot find forgiveness for his past sins. He shows up in Mexico to see Rayburn (Christopher Walken), an old military buddy, who agrees with the idea that God will never forgive them for what they have done, and who gets him a gig as a bodyguard. It seems that south of the border there is one kidnapping an hour by gangsters seeking to extort money. We are given a graphic example of how the practice works at the start of the movie and told that 70% of kidnapped victims are killed. Because he has a drinking problem Creasy is available at a cut rate, but his anti-terrorism experience makes him a good value.

The body Creasy is guarding belongs to young Pita (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of Samuel (Marc Anthony) and his American bride Lisa (Radha Mitchell), which explains the little blonde girl with a Mexican name. She is cute and smart (it is Dakota Fanning; what were you expecting?), and insists on forming a friendship with her bodyguard. Creasy resists, primarily for the practical concerns of being better able to protect her if they are not chatting about everything under the sun while he is driving her to and from school or piano lessons. But she wears him down and he clearly becomes a father figure her, using his Marine Corps experience to teach her how to get off to a good start in her swimming races and suggesting a way of getting out of future piano lessons. Of course, she is kidnapped just as their bond is strongest, mainly because she refuses to leave her friend behind when he is being shot to pieces in a gunfight.

The kidnappers make two mistakes. The first and most obvious one is that they do not kill Creasy, because he vows to kill all of them. The second is that the kidnappers never change the license plate on one of their cars. Creasy and Pita see it tailing them earlier in the film and it appears again during the kidnapping. My first thought was that they were stupid and did not understand how to be smart about such things. But then I thought that maybe there was an element of arrogance to their actions. After all, they have some of the judicial police in their pockets and to these thugs this is just another day at the office. That is it was until they took Pita away from Creasy.

Creasy displays a ruthless efficiency as he tracks down "the Voice," the man who gave the ransom instructions over the phone and is behind Pita's kidnapping. His interrogation technique will make you grateful for the excesses of stylistic editing but each one does get him closer and closer to his goal. Creasy has a newspaper reporter (Rachel Ticotin) and an honest police official (Giancarlo Giannini) providing help in connecting the dots and getting him closer to his target. As Rayburn tells the cop: "A man can be an artist in anything...Ceasey's art is death, and he's about to paint his masterpiece. Stay out of his way." Unfortunately besides that burst of eloquence Rayburn tends to lay it on a bit thick, declaring Creasy will "deliver more justice in a weekend than ten years of your courts and tribunals" and the grand overstatement "Creasy's gonna make them wish they hadn't touched one hair on her head."

One thing I liked about "Man on Fire" was that when Creasy leaves the hospital to go track down the kidnappers he is still recovering from his wounds, which keep bleeding throughout the last act of the film. I also liked that while the thought of Pita would stay his hand from killing one particular person, he was still able to ensure that person died as they deserved. Those who are expecting this film to have a happy ending are going to have to rethink what a happy ending might be under the circumstances here. Even with all of the bangs in this one the film is going to end with more of a whimper. The idea of finding redemption through a blood bath mind seem strange, but Washington's powerful performance carries the logic of the film, even thought the director's bag of tricks often gets in the way.

Washington is Creasy, who, haunted by his past as a counter-insurgency assassin employed by the U.S. government, drinks to excess and contemplates suicide. On a social call to a pal from the old days, Rayburn (Christopher Walken), Creasy rhetorically asks, "Do you think God will forgive us for what we've done?" Rayburn, now living the good life in Juarez, Mexico, would like to see Creasy pull out of his self-destructive funk. So, he puts his friend in touch with Mexican businessman Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony), who lives with his American wife Lisa (Radha Mitchell) and daughter Pita (Dakota Fanning) in Mexico City, where kidnapping offspring of the rich and famous is a growth industry. Samuel and Lisa are in the market for a new bodyguard for their daughter.

Creasy, of course, takes the job. At first, he rebuffs the overtures of young Pita, who's an only child in need of a new friend. Slowly, though, he falls under her thrall. Indeed, Pita's innocence and youthful zest for life make Creasy want to live again. So, after she's ultimately kidnapped in a bloody street shootout (that leaves her protector gravely wounded) and ostensibly killed after a ransom attempt gone awry, Creasy vows apocalyptic revenge against all those involved in her abduction. And Rayburn, with his useful contacts, supplies enough firepower to single-handedly topple another Third World despot.

MAN ON FIRE has been criticized because Washington, one of Hollywood's finest dramatic actors, supposedly deserves a better role than that of a formula action/special FX Neanderthal. The point seems to be missed that Denzel brings to Creasy's persona a depth of character, albeit an emotionally and psychologically tortured one, rarely seen in the lantern-jawed superheroes of screen legend. Indeed, Denzel's performance is eminently watchable, as is that of each of the major players in the production. Dakota Fanning, at age 10, is incorrigibly engaging as the kid who wins the Tough Guy's heart. Mitchell, whom I've not seen before, is completely convincing as the gorgeous Mom who holds her child dearer than anything. And how about that Christopher Walken, huh? Here, soon after THE RUNDOWN, we have another notable supporting performance.

In my mind, the film falls short on two minor points. First, it wasn't clear what happened to Samuel's lawyer - poor scripting or bad editing, perhaps. Second, the casting director apparently bent over backwards to make the Ramos family appeal to WASP audiences. I mean, why not Salma Hayek and some adorable Latino girl instead of the Nordic blonde Lisa and the precocious Pita (who had all the Latino attributes of Shirley Temple in her Cute Phase)? And, as an aside, Mexico City desperately needs a PR makeover after MAN ON FIRE dwells on its police corruption and slums - I wouldn't now go there on a bet.

MAN ON FIRE is a violent and gritty shoot-'em-up that transcends most of the genre because of Denzel presence. Four and a half stars.

Yes, it's about a loner (and an alcoholic to boot) hired to stop somebody kidnapping a child of rich parents in a South American country. Yes there's the almost inevitable befriending of child and protector to both their benefits, and the bad person is more or less obvious from the start blah blah all sounds very dull so far. However, it is beautifully shot, the graphics and subtitles are arranged on screen in a really interesting, innovative way, and the emotional storyline isn't at all clumsy. You'd think it was an action movie, and yes it is violent in places, with a fairly hefty bodycount, but it is so much more than a bog standard rescue flick. Everything is well handled, making for an interesting movie to watch both for its plot and its cinematography, and you can't help but get involved with the characters and the story.

I would recommend this to even the most hardened of bodyguard/action movie haters. If I could give 4 and a half stars, it would have the extra.

I don't have the DVD so I don't know about the extras on disc, but the film itself has to be worth the money.