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Man on Fire from 2004 is one of those action movies that had so much damn potential to be something really special and let me be specific that 90% of the movie is fkn awesome but then just completely falls apart at the end and leaves you sitting there asking yourself what the hell just happend, the whole thing builds up this raw energy with Denzel Washington doing his thing as John Creasy and you get invested in him protecting this little girl Dakota Fanning plays and there bond is actually pretty solid for what it is, watching him go from been this broken former CIA guy who literally tries to kill himself to finding something worth living for again through his friendship with Pita really works for the first two acts. Tony Scott knew how to shoot action sequences that feel gritty and real, none of that overly polished bullshit where everything looks too clean, he gives you this dirty Mexico City vibe where kidnappings are a real business and bodyguards are basically mandatory for rich familys who do not want there kids ending up in some cartel dungeon, the statistics they throw at you in the beginning are absolutely horrifying like one kidnapping every 60 minuts in Latin America and 70 percent of victims do not survive witch sets up just how dangerous this world is. Creasy starts off as this alcoholic mess who drinks Jack and water without even hesitating when offered a drink, the guy is clearly dealing with some heavy trauma from his past work as a counter terrorism operative and you can see it in every scene where he gets asked about his history, he shuts down completely and refuses to engage with anyone trying to connect with him witch makes sense for someone carrying that much guilt about whatever he did during his 16 years of military experience. Christopher Walken shows up as his old friend Rayburn and does his usual Walken thing, trying to help Creasy find some structure and purpose by getting him this bodyguard job in Mexico City protecting the daughter of a wealthy business man, Mickey Rourke appears briefly and then gets killed off in the most random way possible with his head cut off floating in a pool witch felt like they just wanted him gone quick without any real payoff for his character.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328107/
- Platform: AppleTV+
Rottentomatoes Rating
The relationship between Creasy and Pita is what makes the first half of the movie work so well, Dakota Fanning was like 10 years old when she did this and shes absolutely phenomenal in every single scene, she sells this precocious kid who sees right through Creasys tough guy act and slowly breaks down his defenses by just been herself and asking him questions he does not want to answer about his past or weather he likes music or why hes so unhappy all the time. The scene where he tells her hes been paid to protect her not to be her friend is harsh, you can see it hurts her feelings and she moves to the back seat of the car and stops talking to him, but then later he starts warming up to her when he helps her train for her swimming competitions and teaches her how to get faster off the blocks at the start of the race witch is such a small detail but shows how much he starts caring about this kid. They have this whole thing with the Saint Jude medal she gives him as a gift, the patron saint of lost causes witch is exactly what Creasy is at that point in his life, and he wears it around his neck along with a little flower bracelet she made for him and those visual details show you everything you need to know about how shes changing him without the movie having to spell it out with dialog. The swimming competition scene where Pita finally wins first place and Creasy is there cheering for her by the pool is touching, you believe these two people care about each other deeply even tho they come from completely diferent worlds and there relationship is supposed to be strictly professional, Mark Anthony shows up as Pitas father Samuel who is having money problems with his business and dealing with his own marriage issues with Lisa played by Radha Mitchell, the family dynamic feels real even if we do not spend a ton of time with them.
When the kidnaping finaly happens its absolutly a well develop scene, Creasy identifies the threat immediatly when he sees the same vehicle following them and he tells Pita to get back inside but its already too late, they ambush him with multiple shooters and even corrupt police officers are involved in the whole operation witch shows just how deep the corruption goes in this version of Mexico City where the authorities are working with the criminals, well to be honest that happens all around the world now days. Creasy gets shot like three times trying to protect Pita and hes bleeding out on the pavement while shes screaming his name and trying to stay with him, Dakota Fannings performance in this scene is heartbreaking because you can see the terror in her eyes as shes dragged away and Creasy cant do anything to stop it, the whole sequence is shot in Tony Scotts signature style with quick cuts and color filters that make everything feel chaotic and disorienting witch works perfectly for what there trying to project. After Creasy wakes up in the hospital and finds out Pita is gone, they actually took her, the whole tone of the movie shifts completely, it becomes a strait up revenge story where Denzel goes full badass mode hunting down every single person involved in the kidnapping and killing them one by one in very creative brutal ways, the interrogation scene where he cuts off fingers and cauterizes the wounds with a car lighter is hard to watch but also satisfying because you want these assholes to suffer for what they did to this innocent kid. The voice they keep talking about is this mysterious figure who runs the whole kidnapping operation and never shows his face, Creasy works his way up the chain of command by torturing information out of people and following the money trail, Mariana Sanchez played by Rachel Ticotin is this journalist who helps him by giving him information about La Hermandad witch is the brotherhood of corrupt cops protecting the kidnapers, the conspiracy goes all the way up to high ranking government officials and wealthy business people who profit from the whole disgusting system.
The action sequences in the second half are where Tony Scott really shows off his visual style, the shootout at the rave warehouse where Creasy rescues another kidnapped girl is shot with strobe lights and heavy shadows that make everything feel like a waking nightmare, the scene where he blows up a car with a guy inside using a bomb attached to the guys rectum is so over the top it almost becomes darkly comic, Denzel plays every moment with this quiet intensity that makes you believe Creasy has completely let go of any humanity he had left and is now just a killing machine fueled by grief and rage over loosing the one person who made him want to live again. They all thought Pita was dead by now but the twist that Pita is actually still alive comes way to late in the movie and feels kinda cheap, like they wanted to have there cake and eat it to by making you think shes dead for emotional impact but then bringing her back so the ending can be bittersweet instead of completely tragic, Samuel made a deal with the voice to get his daughter back by handing over Creasy and the insurance money witch is why the whole kidnapping happend in the first place because Samuels business was failing and he needed the payout. The final exchange on the bridge where Creasy trades himself for Pita should be this huge emotional climax but it falls flat because the movie has spent the last 40 minutes showing us Creasy murder dozens of people, so him suddenly deciding to sacrifice himself feels less like a redemption and more like he just ran out of people to kill, Pita sees him one last time and he tells her he loves her witch is sweet but then he just dies in the back of the car from his wounds and the movie ends without giving us any real closure on what happens next or weather his death actually meant anything beyond saving one kid.
The biggest problem I have with this movie is that ending man, the whole sacrifice thing where Creasy trades himself for Pita and then just bleeds out in the backseat feels hollow as hell after everything he went through to get her back, I get what Tony Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland were going for with the redemption through sacrifice angle but it does not land the way it should have, at least I see it that way but others might appreciate how its different and not every movie needs a happy ending, but it just feels predictable and unsatisfying like they could not figure out a better way to end the story so they went with the most obvious tragic ending possible. The movie does a great job when it focused on the relationship between Creasy and Pita in the first hour, those quieter moments where there just talking or training together have more emotional weight than any of the action scenes that come later, Denzel and Dakota Fanning have incredible chemistry together and the movie makes you believe this hardened killer would find a reason to keep living through his connection with this smart funny kid who refuses to let him drown in his own misery. The revenge stuff is entertaining and brutal, but by the time we get to the end it all feels kinda pointless because Creasy dies anyway and we are left wondering what the point of the whole thing was besides watching Denzel look cool while shooting people, the movie had so much more potential to be something deeper than just another action revenge story but it gets lost in its own style and forgets to stick the landing. Overall I would give Man on Fire an 8 out of 10 because even though I rant a bit here I really like it and its one of my favorite Denzel Washington movies, its worth watching and the first half where the story actually takes time to develop characters and relationships, but the second half falls into a kinda standard action movie stuff that you have seen a million times before and the ending is just disappointing after all that buildup, if your a fan of revenge movies or Tony Scott or just want to see Denzel do his thing then check it out but do not expect it to leave you feeling satisfied with a happy ending.
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