Review of Man on Fire (2004) by Esteban G — 01 Jul 2015

"A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasy's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece.".

I don't know what it is about this formulaic revenge film directed by Tony Scott, but I absolutely fell in love with it from the first time I laid my eyes on it. As much as I love Tarantino's script in True Romance, I still consider Man on Fire to be Tony Scott's best film. I'm also a fan of Denzel Washington's work so their collaboration together in this film is probably the main reason why I enjoy it so much. This was their first film together, but they went on to make three more action films after this one which I enjoyed to a lesser degree. Scott's last film, Unstoppable was a pleasant surprise, but they never matched the quality of Man on Fire. I'm probably alone in this claim, considering it wasn't received well by the critics. There are two other performances here that I really enjoyed. Christopher Walken playing Paul Rayburn, one of Creasy's (Denzel Washington) closest friend and Dakota Fanning as Lupita, the girl that Creasy is hired to protect. Fanning gave one of the cutest child performances I've seen and you couldn't help but feel enraged during the scene in which she was kidnapped. That believable performance and the strong chemistry she had built with Washington is one of the main reasons why the familiar revenge tale manages to work so well and engage its audience emotionally. These are the roles in which Denzel seems to excel at, and he recently proved it once again in The Equalizer. Man on Fire is over the top in its portrayal of violence and it's very stylish, but I was always entertained. Well I think I've written enough about this film so I'll be off to Blue Bayou now!

"Forgiveness is between them and God. It's my job to arrange the meeting.".

"Last wish? I wish you had more time.".