My take: Man on Fire
For those of you that like revenge-action-thrillers, I give you Man on Fire, a movie I consider to be better than what most give it credit for. Set in the crime ridden metropolis of Mexico City, Mexico, it's the story of former soldier and current drunk John Creasy played remarkably well by Denzell Washington. His job is that of a bodyguard to a young girl, Pita, played by the always engaging Dakota Fanning. The movie begins with a quote of what the kidnapping statictics are in the city, something along the lines of one every hour; 70% of them end violently, we're told (a quick Google search doesn't specifically back this up, but there are still horror stories that don't ring hollow). Also in the movie is Marc Anthony as Pita's father, a workaholic businessman who is more interested in hiring someone to fulfill an insurance policy than a true bodyguard; Mickey Rourke, who holds a sacred place in the hearts of so many Hollywood folk despite being a class A jerk, does well in the role of the family attorney who's a class A+ jerk; and practically a cameo by Christopher "Cowbell" Walken as Creasy's old friend who gets him the job as the bodyguard.
The story progresses forward with a somewhat cookie cutter design, but watching Pita and Creasy interact takes away from what could be boring and uninteresting. That said, the filmmaker does go a bit far (I think) in trying to establish how troubled Creasy is. At first there is tension between the girl and the grizzled vet, but before long Pita's charm begins to wear down his tough guy facade and the two begin a friendship that more resembles that of a favorite uncle and niece than anything else. Creasy, in his drill, drill, and more drill personality assists Pita with her homework, piano, and even plays an integral part in preparing her for a swim meet.
Despite Creasy's efforts, Pita is abducted, a scene that closes out the "first half" of the movie, so to speak. Until this point, it has resembled an odd-couple, buddy type flick; it now gets violently shoved into the revenge-thriller genre that it truly belongs in. Creasy, with the aid of some local officials who are powerless due to the high levels of corruption, goes on the warpath to abolish the group responsible for the girl's abduction. "I'm gonna take them apart piece by piece," Creasy growls, and then sets out to do just that.
The second half of the movie is violent, with Creasy emplying a number of tactics and interogation styles to get to the next level of what turns out to be a kidnapping empire. Along the way, there are a few twists that occur that slightly alter the direction, but ultimately you'll walk away feeling like you've just seen a good amount of vengeance meeted out. A solid 8 of 10.
There are two DVD versions out, the regular and the collector's edition. The regular is a bare bones, no frills version while the collector's edition contains a second disc full of deleted scenes including an alternate ending that may be better than the one in the film (in my opinion, it is). There are also behind the scenes documentaries that chronicle just how dangerous it really was filming in Mexico City. If you do this movie, do yourself a favor and go for the collector's edition - you won't be dissapointed.
The story progresses forward with a somewhat cookie cutter design, but watching Pita and Creasy interact takes away from what could be boring and uninteresting. That said, the filmmaker does go a bit far (I think) in trying to establish how troubled Creasy is. At first there is tension between the girl and the grizzled vet, but before long Pita's charm begins to wear down his tough guy facade and the two begin a friendship that more resembles that of a favorite uncle and niece than anything else. Creasy, in his drill, drill, and more drill personality assists Pita with her homework, piano, and even plays an integral part in preparing her for a swim meet.
Despite Creasy's efforts, Pita is abducted, a scene that closes out the "first half" of the movie, so to speak. Until this point, it has resembled an odd-couple, buddy type flick; it now gets violently shoved into the revenge-thriller genre that it truly belongs in. Creasy, with the aid of some local officials who are powerless due to the high levels of corruption, goes on the warpath to abolish the group responsible for the girl's abduction. "I'm gonna take them apart piece by piece," Creasy growls, and then sets out to do just that.
The second half of the movie is violent, with Creasy emplying a number of tactics and interogation styles to get to the next level of what turns out to be a kidnapping empire. Along the way, there are a few twists that occur that slightly alter the direction, but ultimately you'll walk away feeling like you've just seen a good amount of vengeance meeted out. A solid 8 of 10.
There are two DVD versions out, the regular and the collector's edition. The regular is a bare bones, no frills version while the collector's edition contains a second disc full of deleted scenes including an alternate ending that may be better than the one in the film (in my opinion, it is). There are also behind the scenes documentaries that chronicle just how dangerous it really was filming in Mexico City. If you do this movie, do yourself a favor and go for the collector's edition - you won't be dissapointed.
posted by misawa at 7:18 AM
1 Comments:
I agree with your review. If you are in the mood for some good revenge watch this movie. It is as good but not better than The Professional (or Leon as it is known overseas) which is also a very good revenge movie.
But back to Man on Fire, Washington is very good. My favorite quote though was when an old man asked Washington if he believed in God. To which Washington replied "It's not my job to bring them to God. It's my job to arrange the meeting."
San Antonio
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