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 Revenge
may be a dish that’s best served cold, but judging by Hollywood
standards, it’s also served in generous proportions. That would
certainly explain the recent onslaught of vengeance-themed vigilante
movies like Walking Tall, The Punisher and of course,
both volumes of Kill
Bill.
Now Denzel
Washington steps up to the plate with his explosive new thriller
Man on Fire, and the result is a scorching blend of The
Professional, Proof
of Life and The Limey. Not only does the 2-time
Oscar-winner burn up the screen with a no-holds-barred, tour-de-force
performance, but director Tony Scott also proves that he is still
a filmmaking force to be reckoned with. Thanks to stylish direction,
plenty of action, an intense pace and great dialogue, Man on
Fire turns out to be a blazing cinematic surprise.
Suicidal
ex-CIA assassin John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is given a new
lease on life when he is asked to bodyguard Pita Ramos (Dakota
Fanning), the nine-year-old daughter of a wealthy industrialist
in Mexico City. Creasy is initially reluctant to take on the assignment,
but the more he gets to know the precocious child, the more he
develops a touching paternal bond with her. Just when their special
friendship is solidified, Pita is kidnapped for ransom and presumed
dead after a botched rescue attempt. Now Creasy is out for blood,
and nothing can stop him from tracking down those responsible
for taking the young soul who taught him how to live again.
If Tony Scott
made this movie 20 years ago (as he intended to before getting
sidetracked with 1986’s Top Gun), it’s highly unlikely
that it would have turned out half as good as it did. That’s because
Scott draws on the best of his previous films for a unique blend
where the whole is ultimately far greater than the sum of its
parts. The movie’s dark, gritty, color-saturated style brings
to mind Scott’s under-rated 2001 potboiler Spy Game, while
the hyper-kinetic MTV-style direction recalls 1998’s Will Smith
thriller Enemy of the State. Scott also returns to the
themes (and the country) he explored in 1990’s disappointing Kevin
Costner drama Revenge, though he fares much better this
time around.
Scott throws
in everything but the kitchen sink for what turns out to be a
very busy and thoroughly engrossing drama, but there are times
where he could have exercised some restraint. After being emotionally
burned out at the beginning of the movie, Creasy’s sudden embracing
of the young Ramos feels forced and contrived. In addition, Scott
uses distracting subtitles whether he needs them or not, and his
frenetic directing style periodically crosses the line into self-indulgence.
The movie is also longer than it should be (it runs close to 2
1/2 hours), but in the end, it’s such an intense nail-biter that
the time flies by.
Where Scott
is obviously well suited to direct the film given his experience,
the same can be said about Brian Helgeland’s screenplay. Man
on Fire comes just 6 months after his Oscar-nominated adaptation
of Mystic River, which also explored the theme of having
a paternal figure avenge the death of a child. By the time Creasy
embarks on his mission, he takes on a brutal, unapologetic approach
that recalls Mel Gibson’s character in Payback, which Helgeland
wrote and directed.
If Man
on Fire proves anything, it’s that Denzel Washington still
has the pick of the litter and has never been better. After winning
an Oscar for his deliciously over-the-top corrupt cop in 2001’s
Training Day, and after his impressive turn in last year’s
Out of Time (which should have been a huge box office hit),
Washington gives one of the best performances of his career in
Man on Fire. He runs a gamut of emotions (ranging from
burned-out drunk to paternal father figure to sadistic avenging
angel), and the vocal inflection of his one-liners elevates his
dialogue to classic status.
The supporting
cast is also in fine form, especially where Dakota Fanning is
concerned. Just as she did in 2001’s I Am Sam, the 10-year-old
actress proves that she is wise far beyond her years and more
than holds her own against Washington. The beautiful Radha Mitchell
makes good on her promise from 1998’s High Art with a strong
performance as Fanning’s sexy socialite mother, while singing
sensation Marc Anthony makes his mark as an actor as Fanning’s
stressed-out father. And of course, the prolific Christopher Walken
(who seems to be in every movie these days) is rock solid as Washington’s
former partner in crime.
Man on
Fire is an unusually strong early spring film that will no
doubt catch moviegoers by surprise, and it should. Not only is
it up there with Kill Bill Vol. 2 as the best of the revenge-themed
lot, but given the dark, brutal and unforgettable measures that
Washington takes in carrying out his revenge, it turns out to
be the movie that The Punisher should have been.
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