Man on Fire (18)

Film

Thrillers

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<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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Time Out says

Extended scenes of boozy washed-up bodyguard Denzel Washington bonding with his precocious ten-year-old charge (Dakota Fanning) see the running-time of this revenge saga touching 150 minutes, when it’s obvious to you, me and Tony Scott’s cigar butt that they’re mere formalities before the girl’s inevitable kidnapping and the bit we’re waiting for: Denzel taking out the bad guys. Since the Mexico City setting is already established as a hotbed of iniquity, we can expect this to be pretty chewy, and so it is, as Denzel launches into a virtuoso display of scumbag-wasting. Basically, it’s a Steven Seagal flick decked out to the nines, with the protagonist adopting the tooled-up Bushian approach of decimating the opposition first, then asking questions. It ought to be seriously unpalatable stuff, yet there’s something so cherishably naff about Scott’s jumping-bean cutting and hokey-cokey camerawork that it’s almost a guilty pleasure, hitting inspired heights of ridiculousness when wailing Lisa Gerrard on the soundtrack and lingering close-ups of Denzel’s St Jude medallion try to convince us of some spiritual redemption. There’s steely support from distraught mum Radha Mitchell, while Special Ops buddy Christopher Walken keeps a straight-ish face through lines like ‘his art is death and he’s about to paint his masterpiece’. Yes, it’s juvenile fan-boy gubbins (Tarantino’s a fan), but Scott’s still the daddy of sleazy Mexicano sadisto-flash trash.

Author: TJ

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Release details

Rated:

18

UK release:

Fri Oct 8 2004

Duration:

146 mins

Cast and crew

Cast:

Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken, Mickey Rourke

Director:

Tony Scott

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Comments & ratings

Rated as: 5/5 (4 ratings)

  • This is a very cynical review of a film which deserved more positive critiques than it received. The sequences showing the girl and her bodyguard growing closer are not in the least superfluous. We get to know the girl, so that we feel the family's outrage and panic at her kidnapping. But most importantly, the little girl gives life and hope back to the washed-out, self-hating, whiskey guzzling central character. When he sets out to find her, and to wreak revenge on her persecutors, we are 100% behind him due to this ground having been laid early in the story. The well directed action now has the emotional underpinning it would otherwise not have had. Sorry TJ!

    Martin Sutton Wed Apr 3
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  • Puts The Bodyguard to shame.

    Thomas Noctor Sat Sep 5 2009
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • Best film in a decade cant speak highly about it. Denzel at his best as usual.

    Thomas Noctor Sat Sep 5 2009
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  • This film is one that i watch over and over again and dont get bored. Denzel is awsome and you really believein his character. The wrighting is amazing the cinematography is top, everything about this film is good. Watch this film. Anyone with kids will understand what this is all about!

    phil Thu May 21 2009
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • great film

    firman Fri Apr 24 2009
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • This has to be one of my top ten films. There are some classic scenes (the man the explosive and the car is one of the most classic scenes in cinematic history!). It is about the bad man gone good, Cold blooded revenge for a honourable reason (to rescue the girl in his charge) against people you can feel don’t matter (the kidnappers). So it is escapism to allow your aggressive streak to enjoy the violence outside and without the guilt of the ethical constraints of everyday life.

    Matt Sun Mar 16 2008
    Rated as: 5/5
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